Rise of the Mandarin
by spc6grl
Summary: With the opening of the Hong Kong branch of Stark Industries, and working on his relationship with Pepper, Tony is going to face his toughest and most dangerous enemy yet, The Mandarin. CHAPTER FIFTEEN RATED M! UPDATED 1/22/2011!
1. Prologue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Okay, people, here is my multi-chapter fic, Rise of the Mandarin. This is my version of 'Iron Man 3.' So, usual disclaimers, I own nothing, so please don't sue me. If you try to, you're not going to get much. This fic is rated T for now, however rating may go up in the future. You guys will get to have a say in that, but depending on my reviews depends on whether or not I continue it, so keep them coming. On a side note, a special thanks to everyone who read 'I get off' and 'In good company.' For ten days my hits count locked up, so all those hits have been lost, so if you read it, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to those of you who reviewed those stories, you guys are awesome, every single one of you are. So, without further adieu, here is 'Rise of the Mandarin.' Don't forget those reviews!

Rise of the Mandarin

Prologue

**Hong Kong, China**

Nine figures stand in a dark room, in a circle with hoods over their heads, each one representing their district of China. To their left, stood a golden throne atop a three tiered platform, wrapped with Chinese dragons, and velvet cushions. Their leader had not arrived yet, but these men were leaders themselves. They were the leaders of the Ten Rings terrorist organization.

"The Russian failed to dispose of him," said one of the figures through gritted teeth. "He was promised that the blood of Tony Stark would be shed."

"Stark has the capability to destroy him," said another figure, hysterically.

"Iron Man must die before he takes power," said another one.

"Iron Man is not the only problem we have, is there?" They all turn and see a man wearing a gold dragon face mask, walking towards them out of the shadows. All of them bow to their leader, keeping their faces to the ground. "Where is the tenth member?" he asked.

"Mandarin, Sire," one of them spoke up, still not daring to look up. "We cannot find him."

"I see." He said nothing after that. He stayed quiet for a few moments, but they knew an outburst would come, there always was when he went silent. He took a few steps to move to the center of their circle, and then it came.

"How did you fools allow this to happen?" He yelled. "He has the tenth ring!" He began to kick each of them in the stomach.

"Yes, Sire, we know," one said, still bowed. Mandarin turned to look at him, then walked over and grabbed his hair through his hood, turning the man's face to look at him.

"Do you, now?" he asked. The man was so frightened he was shaking. He knew what The Mandarin was capable of, but he did not want to be an example, not today, not ever. The Mandarin growled and threw the shaken man to the ground. "Stay down you insolent pigs!" he yelled as he walked across them. "This incident is not acceptable," he said as he walked up the tiered platform and sat down on his throne. "The tenth member must be found with the tenth ring, and you all will find him. If I do not have the tenth ring here in five days I will start killing off each of your families." He paused to listen to see if anyone of them dared to say a word. No one spoke. "Each of you have pledged your allegiance to me, and this act is unforgiveable. I will NOT allow my father's dream to perish because one member decided to defy me!" He stopped a moment, to allow his words to sink in. "The Iron Man is a minor problem. With the Russian's research, I can build my own suit, capable of obliterating him right off the planet. I will see to it myself that Tony Stark, the mighty Iron Man himself, die without mercy."


	2. Chapter One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Here is chapter one. Again, I do not own it. Read and Review!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter One

**Malibu, CA**

"Yes, we are currently in transition," Pepper said into her phone. Chaos went on around her. "No, no, those go over there," she told a construction worker. Tony's house was getting remodeled, and he was nowhere to be found. "No, sir, that will not delay the shipping of your parts." She walked over boards and tool boxes, trying to get to the stairs that led to the basement. "They will be on their way. Yes, sir, you as well." She sighed as she hung up the phone, finally reaching the stairs.

"Sir, Miss Potts is descending the stairs," Jarvis said. Tony moved quickly. He fell to his chair, rolled over to the suit, and acted as if he was working on it. Pepper saw him, shook her head, and punched in her code.

"You know, remodeling your house would be easier if you were actually up there supervising," she said, walking over to him.

"Actually, I was thinking you could handle it," he said, not turning to her.

"Tony, it's your house. Why would I want to remodel your house?" she asked him. Tony turned to look at her.

"Pepper, you're here all the time. It might as well be your house, too," he said, while trying to keep a straight face.

"Tony, we can have that discussion later, right now, I need you to focus on Stark Industries," she said looking down to her paperwork. Tony sighed.

"Fine, what do we have on the agenda, today?" he asked, turning back to the suit.

"Both Fox and MSNBC want quotes from you regarding Hammer's indictment," she said.

"Tell them that's one down in my evil plan to take over the world," he said, not missing a beat. Pepper glared into the back as his head.

"Tony," she began through gritted. "I don't think it would be wise for Iron Man to give a quote like that."

"Oh my god, Pepper," he said, turning around to look at her. "If you can't tell when I'm joking, what makes you think the morons at Fox will?"

"Tony, this is serious!" she exclaimed. "Have you seen the list of charges he's facing?"

"Yes, Pepper, I have," he said, while nodding his head.

"Conspiracy to commit murder, attempt to commit murder, aiding the escape of a felon," she began.

"Yes, Pepper," he said as he got out of his chair and walked over to her.

"I mean, I know it's been a very trying three months. You're CEO again, the company's in order, finally; the Senate still won't get off your back, not to mention you're buying out Hammer Industries, plus we're together now…" Tony lips came to hers. His arms wrapped around her as his lips slowly moved with hers. Reluctantly, her arms wrapped around his waist.

"You're babbling again," he said between kisses.

"I don't babble," she said. She let him kiss her for a few more seconds before she pulled away. "Tony, we're working," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"Five minute break," he said as he backed them up to his chair and brought her down to sit in his lap sideways. She grunted. "By the way, what are you doing this weekend?" he asked. "You don't have plans, do you?"

"Tony, we're going to Hong Kong, remember?" she said.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. I thought there was something else going on this weekend," he said, fiddling with something behind him. "Are you sure there isn't anything else going on this weekend?"

"Yes, Tony, I'm pretty positive nothing else is going on this weekend," she said, sounding insulted that he would dare to think she missed something. Tony looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Are you serious? You seriously don't remember?" he asked. Pepper sighed.

"No, Tony, apparently I don't remember. Please tell me," she said aggravated. "What is this weekend? Our three month anniversary?" she asked sarcastically, but then a white box wrapped in ribbons and a bow was placed in her lap.

"It's your birthday, baby," he said softly. Pepper was so flabbergasted all she could do was look at him. "Our three month anniversary was last week," he said with a smirk. Finally, a smile grew on her face.

"The first time in ten years, you remembered my birthday," she said, still surprised.

"Of course I remembered. What do you think I am, a selfish person who thinks of no one but himself?" he asked.

"Thank you, Tony," she said as she leaned down and kissed him.

"Open it, come on," he said, taking her paperwork out of her hand. She sighed, feeling a blush spread across her face.

"Wow, Tony." She carefully pulled the ribbons and bow from the box.

"Did I surprise you?" he asked while watching her take her time opening her present.

"Yes you did, as a matter of fact." She tossed the ribbon aside. "Should I be worried about the contents of this box?" she asked, pulling the tape off with her fingers.

"No, you shouldn't. But I'm getting old here, Potts. I swear, you're the only person I know that takes forever and a day to open a present," he said, getting slightly frustrated.

"Okay, okay," she said. She opened the top and pulled the tissue paper away. "Oh, Tony," her voice filled with awe. She pulled the dress from the box as she stood out of Tony's lap.

"I know it's not blue and backless, but…"

"It's red and strapless," she said, turning the dress around to frame it against her body. Tony smiled.

"You like it?" he asked.

"I love it, Tony," she said, still looking at it. Tony rose out of his seat. "Thank you so much," she said, looking at him now.

"You're welcome." He placed his hands on her face and pulled her into a passionate kiss. They stood like that for a moment before she pulled back with an eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked, his voice sounding concerned.

"Do I want to know how you found out what size I wear?" she asked. Tony's eyes widened.

"Um..."

"You went through my closet, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes, but I was only looking for another dress okay? It's not like I was looking through your lingerie drawer, alright?" he said, trying desperately to justify his actions. Pepper stared at him.

"It was in the bathroom, you know."

"That would explain why I couldn't find it," he said while looking down to the ground, a grin growing on his face.

"Uh huh," she said, still looking at him, a smile growing on her face as well. "I still love it."

"Okay, good," he said quickly. "Why don't we go check on the chaos going on upstairs?" he asked.

"Yes, let's," she said while dropping her dress over her arm. "And chaos would be an understatement."

"Hang on, let me get something to drink." He said as he walked over to his kitchenette.

"Tony, don't you think it's a little early for that?" she asked, picking up her papers.

"It's never too early for the good stuff." He pulled out the glass bottle from the cabinet and poured the amber liquid into a small glass with ice. "You want one?"

"No thanks, Tony. I'm working, remember?" Tony turned to see her smirking.

"You take pleasure in teasing me, don't you?" he asked as he started walking towards her.

"Yes, actually, I do."

"You're gonna pay for that, Miss Potts," he said, then began to run towards her. She squealed, then turned to run towards the door. She opened the door and ran up the stairs with Tony on her heels. They settled down once they reached the top, not wanting to put on a show for the construction workers. As if on cue, her phone began to ring.

"Pepper Potts," she said into the phone. She was back in assistant mode. "Yes, Mr. Russell, I was just reading your email," she spoke into the phone as she looked back at Tony, motioning that she was going back to work. He smiled and nodded, then focused his attention to the mess going on in his house.

"You, why isn't the hole in my living room repaired yet?" he asked, grabbing one worker out of the mess.

"The concrete isn't done mixing, sir," he said, a little standoff-ish.

"Well, it needs to get done, now, doesn't it?" he said.

"Yes, sir." The worker immediately left to go check on it. As he left, two more workers were bringing in a mattress.

"Yes, baby, this is what I'm talking about," Tony said as he walked over to them. "Now, this is a bed to sleep on." Tony inspected the over-sized king mattress, making sure no holes or marks were on it before they carried it upstairs to its resting place in the master bedroom. "Looks good, boys. Go ahead and take her upstairs." As they carried it to the stairs, two more workers were bringing down his old one. Pepper, just by chance, glanced up from her computer. "Yes, thank you, get that dirty piece of shit out of my house," she heard him say while directing them to the door. A small smile grew on her face as she returned to her emails.

* * *

"Sire, we have failed to locate him." The Ten Rings were assembled again. They bowed to their leader as he sat on his thrown. The Mandarin's hands tightened on the armrest. His grip was so tight they could hear the wood buckle under his grip.

"I want that ring. You will see to it that it is returned to me," he said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, Sire," they all said, not daring to contradict his order.

"Tony Stark comes to us at the end of the week. We will make sure he gets a very warm welcome," he said, his grip finally proving too much for the armrest. The wood spilt beneath his hand, and the remnants fell to the floor.

* * *

Night fell over Malibu, and everyone had left for the day. Pepper listened for his movements in the main level of the house, but didn't hear him. She assumed he went back down to the basement and started down the stairs.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is waiting for you in the master bedroom," Jarvis said. Pepper stopped mid-step. She rolled her eyes, and turned back around to head up the stairs.

"Jarvis, does he still have his cloths on?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am, he does," the A.I. said flatly.

"Good, otherwise he'd be going to Hong Kong by himself this weekend," she said, almost to the top level. She reached the top of the stairs and continued down the hallway. She stopped right outside the door, and cautiously peered in the door to see where he was located, however she didn't see him. Her eyebrows narrowed and moved inside the room. "Tony?"

"In here," she heard him call from his closet.

"What are you doing in your closet?" she asked walking towards it.

"I'm inspecting the work that was done today," he said.

"I didn't know your closet was damaged, too," she said, finally entering the closet. When she finally saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"It wasn't, I had it expanded," he said, turning to look at her.

"Whoa," she said, looking around. "I never realized you needed a bigger closet."

"This wasn't for me," he said, walking towards her.

"Huh?" she asked, confused now. He put on that cocky 'Tony Stark' smile and grabbed her hand.

"Come on," he said, pulling her out of the closet. Something was going on, she knew. He lead her out of the closet and over to the new bed. He let go of her hand, ran, and jumped onto the bed. Instead of bouncing up, his body just landed flat on top of the mattress, as if he ran into a wall.

"Wow, Tony, that was really impressive. Were you trying to show me something?" she asked sarcastically. He rolled to his side, propped his head up on his hand and looked at her seductively.

"For your information, this is my new posture-pedic mattress. It's great for when my body is aching from those long missions, or when you're mentally and physically exhausted from those long days at the office. I thought it would be nice for us to come home to a nice, comfortable bed, one that we can _actually_ sleep in," he explained, his eyes never leaving hers. Pepper was silent. She blinked a few times before she spoke again.

"You considered me when you chose the mattress?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Yes, Pepper, I did. Would you like to come try it out?" he asked. Pepper stood her ground. "I'm not going to do anything, Pepper, I promise. Please, come sit." He patted the spot in front of him to get her to sit down. Hesitantly, she walked over. She turned around, and sat down with her back facing him.

"Wow, this is nice," she began. "Yes, it's definitely comfortable when you sit down. You know, I think I can actually feel my spine lining up better." Tony smacked his head into the bed.

"Pepper, lay back, would you? You can't really tell it's comfortable until your body feels the experience for itself," Tony said, almost frustrated.

"Oh, you want me to lay back. You said I only needed to sit down," she said, teasing him with his words. Tony sighed.

"Pepper," he began. She turned to look at him.

"Yes?" she asked, teasing him with her tone.

"Please, lay down. I'm not going to do anything, see?" He laid down flat, and entwined his hands together on his chest. "I'm keeping my hands to myself like a good boy. I won't make a move while you're on the bed with me, I promise." He laid there still, just staring at the ceiling. A smile grew on her face.

"Well, since you promised." She turned, and laid down flat on her back, hands laying side by side on her stomach. They laid there a few moments, staring up at the ceiling, listening to each other breathe.

"This is nice," he said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, not very comfortable, though," she said, beginning to fidget. Tony turned his head to her.

"It's not?" he asked, his feelings hurt. She turned her head to him.

"Nope, sorry," she said, looking the part. "However," she said as she began to move towards him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "This, now, this is comfortable. This I like, very much." Tony laughed and wrapped his arm around her.

"You know, you had me worried there," he admitted.

"I know, I just like to keep you on your toes. You have the habit of taking me by surprise, so I just wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine," she said. Tony could hear the smile in her voice, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Okay, point taken, I got it," he said, leaning back into the bed.

"Do you, now?" she asked. Before Tony could register her actions, she rose up, straddled his hips, and had his arms pinned next to his head. "Do you really get it, Tony?" she asked, millimeters away from his face. This caught Tony off guard, big time. He didn't know whether to be scared or turned on, but whatever he was he liked it.

"Um…" he began, trying to register the right words. "Yeah, I think." Pepper smiled wickedly.

"Good." She rose up, then crossed her arms over her chest, her smile fading into her stern 'Pepper Potts' face. "Alright, Stark, start talking," she said, this time not playing. Tony looked at her.

"Huh?" he asked, not believing this.

"Tony, what is going on?" she asked, more forcefully this time.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Pepper," he said as he rubbed his face with his hands.

"Tony, I'm serious." Tony looked to her, seeing her face full of concern.

"Babe, nothing is going on," he said as coolly as he could.

"Oh, don't even give me that, Anthony," she said as she shook her head. "First, you tell me to fix _your_ house anyway that I want it to be. Second, you've more than doubled the size of your closet with someone else in mind. And finally, you get this new mattress designed specifically for relaxation and even said so yourself that you had me in mind when buying this thing." She paused to let her words sink in. "What is going on, Tony?" she asked, more softly this time. Tony sighed and sat up. Pepper scooted back to where she was sitting on his thighs. He was eye level with her, but couldn't quite look her in the eye, not yet. He was nervous. He didn't know what she was going to say, or how she would react for that matter. He didn't think she would pick up on those things so quickly, but then again, he should've because she's Pepper, not some dumb tramp he picked up. He sighed and took her hands in his. He looked her in the eyes and decided to go for it.

"I want you to move in with me," he said. Pepper's eyes widened. To be honest, she really didn't expect him to say it.

"Really?" she asked, not believing what she heard. Tony nodded.

"Yes, Pepper, really." She just sat there, staring at him. When she didn't say anything for a full minute, he felt he better explain. "I know I haven't made the best decisions in the past, and revealing to the world that I'm Iron Man was one of them. I got to thinking about us, and I realized that with all the enemies I still have out there, us living apart really isn't an option. There is no real security at your apartment, even though it is on the more high class part of town, it can't stop anyone from coming in and kidnapping you. Here, Jarvis is 24 hour surveillance and security, and I know you would be safe and not wondering where you are all the time," he explained, genuine sincerity in his voice.

"Is keeping me safe from your enemies the only reason why you want me to live with you?" she asked. Tony swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I don't like it when you leave me at the end of the day." His words melted her right there. "I hate it. I want you to stay, forever if you want to. I know I want you to." His eyes were begging her to say yes. She cupped his face with her hands, and kissed him.

"Give me the weekend to think it over, and the moment we get home, and walk off the plane, I will give you my answer, okay?" Tony grinned. It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but at least it wasn't 'no'.

"Okay." She kissed him once more, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know, you can take more time if you want," he said between kisses.

"Nope, the weekend will be long enough." He pulled back to look at her.

"You already know the answer, don't you?" he asked. Pepper rolled her eyes, with a smirk on her mouth.

"I'm not saying 'yes', and I'm not saying 'no' either," she said, a grin growing on her face.

"Uh huh." He pulled her into another kiss, this time more passionate than the last time. He slowly lowered them to the bed, with no space between them. He wrapped his arms around her, and her hands went to his face, holding him as she kissed him.

"You know," she began between kisses. "That bed you threw out was one of a kind." Tony grunted against her lips.

"That wasn't _our_ bed," he said. "_We_ couldn't sleep on it." He said nothing else and she continued to kiss him. "I'm sure whoever decides to pick it up at the Salvation Army Store will appreciate it, though." Pepper flew back.

"Ew, Tony, that is gross," she said, making a disgusted face. Tony began to laugh.

"No one will know unless you tell them, okay?" he said, still chuckling. Pepper rolled her eyes and moved off of him, once again laying against his side with her head on his chest. Her hand laid on top of his arc and Tony held it there. She could feel the warmth it radiated, but she knew it did more than that.

"I really do have to go, Tony," she said, but not making a move.

"Why?" he asked, sounding like a child.

"Because I have to pack for our trip." She rose to look at him. "The trip that we are scheduled to leave at 7:00 AM for, and you _will_ be on time, Tony Stark." He sighed.

"Yes, mother, I will be on time," he said, poking fun at her.

"Good, don't forget that, either." She got off the bed and straightened out her cloths. He moved to the edge on the bed, and sat with his legs hanging off. "I'm serious, Tony, don't forget," she said, pointing a finger at him. He grabbed it and kissed the tip.

"I promise I won't forget." She smiled and leaned down to kiss him one more time. "You know, you don't have to leave. I could just buy you cloths when we got there," he said, trying desperately to get her to stay. She looked at him.

"I might be doing this for sentimental reasons, you know. This could be the last time I ever sleep in my apartment. This could also be the last time I will be living by myself," she explained. Tony grinned and watched her walk towards the door.

"You should have just said yes, Potts. You're a terrible tease, you know," he said.

"7 AM sharp, Tony!" she called back as she descended the stairs.


	3. Chapter Two

**AUTHORS'S NOTE: **Hey everybody! I'm back! Let me tell you guys something, okay? Y'all are lean, mean, reading machines, seriously. Special thanks to all you guys who reviewed the story, you guys are awesome. Also, I need to apologize to you guys. I had divided the scenes between Hong Kong and Malibu in Chapter One, however FanFiction deleted the hyphens I had separating the scenes. I did put them back in, so hopefully the scenes will be separated now.

I do need mention something real quick. I love reviews and constructive criticism. However, I do not appreciate flames. If you have a problem with my story, please, feel free to privately message me, but do NOT leave it as a review and ruin somebody else's opinion of it, alright? Okay, now that I've said that, I have one warning for you. This chapter has some sad memories for Pepper, so you might want to get a box of Kleenex ready. Please don't hate me for lightening the mood, then bringing it way down, okay? I am leading somewhere with it, not in this story, but in the sequel. *wink wink, nudge nudge.

Anyway, read and review! Constructive criticism welcomed! Oh, and uh, I don't own Iron Man.

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Two

Pepper pulled into the entrance of the Stark Industries hanger at 6:15 AM. She drove her car around to the back where the jet was. As she pulled up, she caught sight of Tony's Audi, then she caught sight of Tony himself, leaning against the car with his arms crossed over his chest. She sighed and pulled into the parking spot beside it. She grabbed her purse, turned off the car, and opened her door. Tony looked down at his watch. "You're fifteen minutes late, Potts," Tony said, trying to sound like a hard ass. Pepper slammed her door and looked at him.

"Tony, you do remember me saying 7 AM, right?" Tony looked down to his watch again, then looked back up to her.

"Alright, you're 45 minutes early, Potts." Pepper laughed as she walked to the back of the car.

"You forgot, didn't you?" she asked, popping her trunk.

"I knew it was either six or seven. I didn't want to face your wrath first thing this morning, so I opted for the earlier hour," he explained, helping her get her luggage out of the car.

"At least you were on time," she said while closing the trunk.

"See? We're off to a great start," he said as she took the covered-hanger bag from his hand and began to walk to the stairs.

"Yes, now if you can manage to pull off your appointments this weekend, it will definitely be an improvement."

"Makes you want me that much more, right?" Pepper stopped dead in her tracks and glared at him. Tony looked at her with his cocky smile.

"Be careful, Tony, otherwise all that work you're putting into your house will be for nothing." She turned and continued walking.

"Just so you know, I do like it when you tease me," he said, following right behind her.

"Who said I was teasing?" she asked, walking up the steps to the jet door.

"You did, with that tone you're speaking with. You take enjoyment at seeing me squirm." She reached the top and turned around to look at him. He still had that smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes and turned to enter the jet.

"You assume too much."

"Only with you, Pep," he said as he followed her in.

Three hours later they were airborne somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The cabin had a digital GPS map, showing their exact location, but Tony wasn't paying it any attention. He was on the phone with Rhodey, who was flying separately to Hong Kong.

"You know you could have just hitched a ride with me, Platypus," Tony said into the phone.

"Yeah I know, but I'm still not used to the idea of you guys being together," Rhodey said while looking at a computer. "It's still kind of weird for me."

"What are you talking about, weird?" Tony asked, almost sounding offended.

"Look, Tony, for a long time I wanted you guys to quit walking around it and get it over with. And now, after years of watching this, it's strange to see it finally happen. But, I am glad you two finally came around," he said, assuring his friend.

"Well, I am happy you approve." His tone was happier now.

"Is she right beside you?"

"No, she's on the couch talking with somebody over the phone," Tony said, looking over to her. She was sitting on the end of the couch with her legs crossed in front of her, with her pencil skirt framing her hips and thighs just right.

"You're checking her out, aren't you?"

"I always check her out, this should not be news to you."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot who I was talking to."

"Oh, ha ha ha, very funny."

"She is hot, Tony. I've always liked her legs," Rhodey said with a smirk.

"Okay, now that's weird." Tony heard Rhodey break out laughing on the other side of the line. "Dude, you can't say stuff like that about my girlfriend, especially to me."

"Tony, do you honestly think you're the only one who checks her out?" Tony fell silent. "Just something to think about man, that's all."

"Yeah, um..." Tony began, wanting to change the subject now. "How's the ex-wife holding up?"

"She's holding up nicely, actually. She passed all her diagnostics with flying colors. You did a good job building it, Tony."

"Yeah, well, to be honest I didn't expect it to be stolen."

"I already apologized for that."

"I know you did. By the way, where are you keeping it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Tony, you know I can't tell you that."

"Come on, Platypus. What do you think I'm gonna do, steal it back?"

"Maybe. Tony, you don't understand, I have orders from the president himself to keep this thing under lock and key."

"Wow, they wouldn't let you take it home?"

"I tried to, but I ran the chance of facing a Court Marshall."

"Sucks to be you, man."

"Thank you, Tony. Thank you for that."

"Anytime."

"Look, Tony I'll see you at the opening."

"Okay, man. Be careful with the jet lag."

"Thanks for that again, Tony," Rhodey snorted into the phone.

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow," Tony said.

"Yep, see you tomorrow." Rhodey placed his earpiece beside the computer. "What is it, Lieutenant?" He asked, walking away from his computer.

"Sir, we have a problem," the gentleman said, turning around to face him.

"What happened, now?" Rhodey asked, sounding agitated.

"The GPS tracker in the suit is no longer functioning, and the suit's computer is no longer linking to our computers," the young man said. Rhodey sighed and rubbed his head.

"This thing must have more bugs in it than I thought." The War Machine was lying on a table with wires flowing out of it. Ever since they had defeated Whiplash, it was one thing after another. "And you've tried everything you can possibly think of?" Rhodey asked, looking to him.

"Yes sir," he said. Rhodey sighed and walked out of the garage.

* * *

"Absolutely not, Rhodes!"

"Sir, the suit has not been functioning to its full capacity ever since the Expo," Rhodey explained. He was standing in the office of his commanding officer, and it wasn't going well. "Tony Stark is the one who built the suit. If he could take a look at it…"

"Rhodes, that suit belongs to the United States Military now. Stark has no authority to be anywhere near it," the General said, not blinking an eye.

"General, with all due respect, Tony Stark is the only one with the capability to figure out what's wrong with it. My team has been racking their brains, night and day, trying to get its system back online with ours and have failed, miserably. Now, if you know of anyone else who is certified in flying suits, please sir, point them in my direction. But I strongly suggest we bring in Stark, he knows the suit, inside and out." He sat there a moment and just stared at Rhodey.

"Do you think he would do it?" he asked. Rhodey sighed.

"I'm not sure, sir. The only way I would know is if I asked him."

"I'll run it by my superiors, and see what they think about the idea."

"Thank you, sir," Rhodey said, slightly relieved.

"Don't thank me yet, Rhodes. And not a word of this to Stark until I get approval," he said, pointing at Rhodey.

"Yes sir," Rhodey said, turning to leave the office.

* * *

Tony sat in his chair, just staring at her. She was focused on typing a lengthy text message on her phone, so she didn't notice him at all. Years of working for him had made her immune to most of his pesky habits. Of course, when he needed something or just felt like bugging her for the hell of it, he always succeeded. And right now, he wanted her full, undivided attention. He got out of his chair and slowly walked over to her. She didn't budge or blink, still focused on her message. He flopped himself down on the opposite side of the couch and rested his arm on the back. He sighed, and turned his head to look at her. No reaction. The only thing he got out of her was she momentarily moved her eyes to the ceiling, mentally phrasing what she needed to say, then she went back to typing. Tony fumed as he tapped his fingers against the back of the couch. She was doing that on purpose, he knew it. He had to find her weakness, it was going to kill him if he didn't. His eyes looked down and drank in her legs. She really did have great legs, he had always thought so. His eyes continued down, until they saw her feet, then it hit him. A grin spread across his face as the wheels in his head began to turn. He scooted closer to her, and bent over to pick up her legs. He settled them on top of his lap and narrowed his eyes to look at her. Her face was unchanged. He thought he had seen a hint of a grin on her lips, but she still kept typing away. He looked down at her legs, and started rubbing them softly. He kept his hand on the lower part of her legs, not daring to go higher than her calves, otherwise that might have warranted a slap. His eyes moved to her face again, and saw that her cheeks were pinker than what they were a few seconds ago. He smiled to himself and decided to go in for the kill. He continued to rub her legs with one hand as the other removed her heels. With soft circular motions, he worked his way down from her legs to her feet. As soon as he applied pressure to the center of her arches, she let out a loud moan.

"Uh, Tony," she grunted. Tony snickered a little.

"Wow, Pepper. If I can get a reaction like that by just rubbing your feet, imagine what I can get out of you in the bedroom," he said. Pepper regained her composure and glared at him.

"Mr. Stark, you are not earning brownie points by distracting me from my work," she said, trying to continue her message.

"Well, Miss Potts, your feet looked as if they needed some major attention. Seriously, Pepper, how do you do it? I know your feet must kill you at the end of the day," he said, continuing to massage her feet.

"Well, it does help if you buy shoes with extra padding, makes walking around a lot more comfortable," she said, eyes not leaving the phone screen.

"Huh, and all this time I thought you were just taking one for the team," he said. She turned her eyes up to see him grinning.

"I work for you, Tony. I think that alone was taking more than one for the team." Tony laughed.

"Touché, Potts." He continued his movements. "You do have beautiful feet, by the way."

"Thank you very much, and you better leave that comment right where it is unless you want me to get up and make the pilot turn around to take me home, and let you continue on to Hong Kong all by yourself." Tony snapped his fingers.

"Fine." He sounded like a scolded child.

"I'm almost done, and then you can distract me all you want to," she said. Tony sighed and continued to rub her feet. Not even ten seconds later, he heard her phone beep. "Okay, now you can distract me," she said, grinning at him.

"Maybe I'm not in the mood anymore," he said, looking away from her with his lip in a pout. Pepper snorted.

"Okay, fine with me." She went to move her legs off of him, but Tony grabbed them.

"Don't even think about it," he said as he bore his eyes into hers.

"Oh, Mr. Stark, you're scaring me. I kind of like it," she said as seductively as she could. Tony's eyes just about popped out of his head. Before he could react, Pepper raised her phone, and snapped a picture of him. She busted out laughing hysterically.

"You gotta stop teasing me like that," he said, laughing himself.

"You should've seen the look on your face," she said, almost unable to breathe. "Here, let me show you." She pulled up her pictures and pulled up the one she just took. She turned the phone around so he could see, and when he saw the expression on his face, he began to laugh harder. His head fell to the back of the couch and his hands covered his face in embarrassment. Pepper couldn't contain her giggles and just sat there with him, waiting for their laughing fits to pass. A couple of minutes passed before the laughing subsided. Tony was taking deep breaths, trying to regain control. Every other second another laugh would escape him, but he was finally able to get it under control. "Sorry, I couldn't resist," Pepper said while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"As long as that picture doesn't make it to the web, we're good," he said, head still leaned back with his eyes closed.

"Don't worry, Tony, this is for the personal collection." Tony's head flew up and looked at her. She was looking at her phone again, but glanced up to meet his eyes. A smile grew on her face as she looked back down to her phone.

"You really do take enjoyment in teasing me," he said as he laid his arm on the back of the couch and propped his head on his hand.

"Of course I do. Would you want it any other way?" she asked looking up to him. Tony shook his head.

"No, not really," he said.

"See?" She looked back down to her phone and began fiddling with it again.

"What are you doing now?" he asked.

"Just checking off stuff. I'm multi-tasking right now, so you still have my attention," she said, still not looking up.

"Okay, good," he said, nodding his head. "Pepper?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"Can I ask you a question?" He sounded hesitant.

"Sure you can," she said, still not looking up from her phone.

"Okay, now, please don't take this as me snooping, because I'm just curious, that's all," he explained.

"Okay."

"When am I going to meet your parents?" he asked. Pepper sighed, still focused on her phone.

"You won't."

"Why not?" he asked, trying not to sound like a nosy boyfriend.

"For the same reason why I won't get to meet yours." She finally looked up to him and smiled. Tony gasped and looked down.

"Oh, sorry," he said.

"No, Tony, please don't be sorry," she said while grabbing his hand. "You didn't know, and frankly, I'm glad you asked." He looked back up to her.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," he said, not wanting to cause her any emotional pain by reliving it.

"No, Tony, I need to tell you. I would rather you hear it from me, than somebody else." Tony's hand tightened around hers. He could tell by the tone of her voice that this was going to be much worse than a car accident. "I was eight. My dad had to go on a business trip, and my mom had decided to go with him. She usually didn't go, and to this day, I have no idea why she decided to go on this particular one. I was staying with my godparents at the time, and I know they hadn't been gone 48 hours when my godfather came to me and said my parents had been shot in their hotel room." Tony's eyes widened. "I didn't understand because I was only eight, and nobody bothered to explain to a child why her mommy and daddy had been shot.

"So, fast forward seven years later, I ran into one of my dad's old colleagues. We began talking about my dad, and he made a comment that didn't set well with me. So I asked him what he meant, and he just looked at me. He asked me if I was serious, and did I not really know. There seems to be a pattern, right?" she asked him, a grin growing on her face. He allowed a small smile to form at her attempt to lighten up the situation. She sighed as she continued. "My dad had been shot in the back, and my mom had been shot in the head. And the gun that was used," she paused, not knowing how he would react to this. "Was found in her hand." Tony gasped. His grip on her hand tightened. "You can imagine my reaction. When I got home, I know I screamed at my brother. 'Why didn't you tell me, why?' I kept asking. 'I didn't tell you, kiddo, because I didn't believe it, and neither should you'," she said in a deeper voice.

The look on his face was that of sorrow and remorse, for her. How could this woman, this wonderful woman have suffered like this? He didn't understand, and it wasn't fair, especially to her. "He didn't believe it?" Tony asked.

"Apparently, my dad had a very high position in the line of work he was in. Jason knew it was a job that anyone would want to kill for, and that's what he believed, until the next year when I lost him to the line of duty."

"God, Pepper, honey, I'm so sorry," Tony said.

"Shh, don't be," she said while patting his hand. "I dealt with this a long time ago." She paused and just looked at him. "You know, Tony, I try to look back on my memories of them, of her, and I try so hard to remember a time where she wasn't happy, and I can't. It was perfect, I had the ideal childhood. I don't ever remember them fighting, at all. In fact, the week before, we had gone to Disney World." She sighed and looked down to their hands.

"Do you believe it?" he asked. She looked back up to him and actually thought about it.

"I honestly don't know if I do or not. There was no evidence of anyone else being in the room with them, however my mom wasn't known to carry a gun, but my dad was. And his gun hadn't been fired, so I have some mixed feelings about it. And then again, she probably just snapped." She shrugged her shoulders. "We'll never know." She looked up to him. All Tony could do was shake his head.

"I am so sorry, Pepper. Really, Honey, I am."

"Makes you feel better about you own self, right?" she asked, smiling. Tony smiled back to her. That was the 'Pepper Potts' he knew.

"To be honest, yeah it does," he said. Pepper leaned forward and placed her hands on his face.

"Please, Tony, don't treat me differently because of this. I'm still me, okay? I just…aired out a little dirty laundry that needed to be aired, okay?" she said, concern in her eyes. Tony placed his hands on top of hers.

"I won't treat you differently, I promise." Her smile came back as soon as he said that. "Okay?" he asked.

"Okay," she said. He pulled her to him, and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down and kissed her lips, more passionately than he had over the past few days. Her hand lingered on his cheek as they kissed, feeling the soft stubble of his beard. After a few moments, he leaned up and looked into her eyes. Their shine was back, and he was glad.

"So, you weren't lying," he said. Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"About what?" she asked.

"When you said I was all you had." They both smiled and he leaned down to kiss her forehead. His head fell to the back of the couch and her head rested on his shoulder.

"Let's talk about something else," she said, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes, let's," he said, wanting the same thing. He turned his head and looked out the window on the other side of the cabin. The sun was setting, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Reds, pinks, and oranges mixed with the ocean, as the clouds were illuminated with a gold tint. "We should be to Hong Kong soon," he said, not taking his eyes away from the sight.

"Yeah," she said, watching the same sight. "Do you get to see scenery like this when you're flying in the suit?" she asked.

"Sometimes, but it's not as meaningful," he said. She looked up to him, and he turned to look at her, and smile on his face and his eyes glittering. She smiled at the realization and kissed him.

And the jet continued on to China.


	4. Chapter Three

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Three

"Fools!" yelled the Mandarin. He was just as angry as ever, and the Ten Rings felt it, in their stomach, loin, head, back, anywhere their master could reach. Every single one of them laid on the floor, trying their best to protect themselves from the abuse of their master, but that just fueled his rage even more. "Why haven't you found him?" he yelled to them again. "Is it really so hard for nine men to find one man in the whole city?" He paused a moment for his question to sink in. "Is it?" he asked one more time. When none of them answered, he pointed to one of them. "You, stand up!" he commanded. The man slowly climbed to his feet. He was literally in physical pain from all the hits and kicks his body had taken while lying on the floor. He stood up as best as he could. Thankfully the hood covered most of his face, so his master couldn't see him gritting his teeth as he stood up straight. "Are you not one of the commanding officers in the Hong Kong Police Department?" asked the Mandarin. The man just stood there, with the hood covering his eyes.

"Yes, Sire, I am," the man said, hesitantly. The Mandarin began to circle the man.

"Then, let me ask you another question," he said, practically leaning over for his minion to hear the anger in his voice. The man tried his best to swallow the growing lump in his throat, he knew this wasn't going to be good. "With all of the resources available to you, how is it that you have not been successful in locating the tenth member?" The Mandarin stopped circling him and stood right in front of him, waiting for his answer. The man was shaking, visibly now. His hands, that had been clasped in front of him, were violently shaking, so much the Mandarin himself reached down and grabbed them, ceasing the shaking. "I will not ask you again, I want an answer." The man swallowed the lump in his throat, and opened his mouth.

"Master," he began, his voice also shaky. "Believe me, I have had several officers looking for him, I even sent a few to his apartment down town, but they found no one there." The Mandarin let go of his hands and turned his back on the man. "Master, please!" he began to beg. "I can only use my resources so much. I may be a commanding officer, but I can't have half the squadron looking for one man, Sire. The chief would begin questioning me, and that would run the risk of them discovering my position with you, and that could lead to them throwing me in prison," he tried to explain. The Mandarin had taken a few steps away from him. "Please, Master, understand, I have a family."

"Oh, I understand alright," he began, practically growling. "You're a coward." The man straightened up at the insult.

"Master, with all due respect…" he didn't get to finish. The Mandarin extended his leg behind him, kicking his minion in the stomach. The man flew back, colliding with one of the pillars, and landed face first into the cold concrete floor. The Mandarin quickly rushed over to him, and turned the man around. He kneeled over the man, grabbed his neck, and pulled out a golden dagger. He raised the dagger above his head, and just when he was about to drive it into the man's heart…

"Master!" called the rest of the group.

"Do not interrupt me when I am disciplining this imbecile!" he yelled to them.

"Master, what our comrade failed to tell you is that he was able to find Chen's wife," said one of them. Mandarin looked up to the man, then back down to the man he was about to kill. He slowly lowered the dagger, and placed it back in its hiding place in his robe. He got off the man and looked down to him.

"Had you just told me so in the beginning, we could've avoided this whole thing," he said, as if he wasn't just about to kill him. The man scooted back slowly, away from his master. "Go fetch her, before I kill you, for real this time." As fast as his quivering legs could carry him, the man got up and ran to get the woman. The Mandarin turned to the rest of the group, who were still lying on the ground. "Get up! I don't want you all looking like a bunch sniveling weasels when our guest comes in," he yelled to them. He walked through them, listening to their moans and groans as they slowly came off the floor. He turned and stood in front of his throne, and waited patiently for his guest. He heard the door open, then the wail of a woman filled the room. If his face hadn't been covered by the dragon mask, his followers would've seen a grin the size of Montana across his face. Her hands were bound in front of her with rope, and a black cloth bag had been placed over her head so she could not see where she was.

"Come on!" the man yelled at her, as he practically dragged her across the floor. One of her high heeled shoes was hanging on to her ankle by its strap, while the other one was doing its best to support her weight while being dragged across a cold floor. He brought her to the center of the circle, and threw her down hard, obviously taking out his frustration on her. She held her arms out to break her fall, but that didn't keep her from scraping them against the concrete floor. He pulled the bag from her head. Her face was just as disheveled as the sapphire oriental dress she was wearing. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara streaked down her cheeks, and her lipstick had smeared, mixing with the mascara. Her hair was messy, some strains were even sticking to the mess on her face. She was a very beautiful woman, but this scene made her look like something from the deep depths of Africa. When her eyes had focused, she looked around and saw ten very scary looking men staring at her, and the fact that one of them was wearing a mask didn't help either.

"Welcome, my dear, to my domain," the Mandarin said to her, in a cool calm voice.

"Where am I?" she asked, voice shaking, and on the verge of tears, again. "Who are all of you, and what am I doing here?" The Mandarin was unmoved by her tears. At this point, he cared about one thing, getting that ring back. He took in a breath, and exhaled slowly, not wanting to lose his temper with her just yet.

"You are the wife of Chen Yong, are you not?" he asked her.

"Yes, I am. Please, don't hurt me, if it's money you want, he can surely pay it," she said.

"Woman, no harm shall come to you unless you help me," he said, as he began to pace in front of her. "You're husband has been missing for quite some time." He paused and continued to pace in front of her, watching her face as she took in his words. "Do you know where he is?" he asked, finally stopping in front of her. She slowly shook her head. "Now," he began. "Your husband has something of mine, something that I need, and if I do not find him by the end of next week, all my plans will be for nothing." He looked at her as if she were a child, trying to explain something that she didn't quite understand, but she shook head once more.

"I don't know where my husband is," she said. "I haven't seen him in three days." The Mandarin clenched his fists at his sides, and tried to remain calm with the woman. But all remnants of control were gone, he was angry, not just angry, enraged. He walked over to the woman, grabbed her hair, and moved her to look him in the eye.

"I am not playing woman," he growled through gnashed teeth. "I need what your husband has, and if I do not get it, I will kill him, and then you." Her tears began to fall freely as she began sobbing in his grasp.

"I don't know where he is, I don't know where he is," she screamed in panic. "Please don't hurt me. I swear I'm telling you the truth, I don't know where he is." The Mandarin threw her face down into the floor, this time her head collided with the concrete with a loud thud. The other members just stood there and watched their master abuse this woman. The Mandarin began to pace, again. He honestly didn't know what to do now. Then, an idea came to mind, and he turned and pointed to one of the members.

"You," he said. "Do you have a cell phone on you?" he asked. The member nodded his head, took it out, and handed it to his master. He kneeled in front of the woman, seeing as she was still trying to raise up from hitting her head on the floor, and held the phone out for her to take. "Call your husband, bring him in." She looked at the phone, then back up to him.

"I've called him several times already, he's not answering my phone calls," she tried to explain. The Mandarin grabbed her hair one more time.

"If you want to live, you will call him," he snarled, getting close to her face. Fear was showing brightly in her eyes as she slowly nodded her head. She took the phone from his hands, and he released her hair. She dialed his number as the mascara marks on her cheeks were getting worse by the second. She placed the phone up to her ear, and sighed in relief when she heard it ringing. It rang and rang, until it eventually went to her husband's voice mail.

"It's gone to voice mail, do you want me to leave a message?" she asked. The Mandarin nodded, slowly. "Chen," she began, her voice shaking even more. "Please, please, call me. I'm surrounded by ten men. They captured me and are keeping me prisoner. Their leader says you have something of his. He says he'll kill me if you do not bring it in." The Mandarin snatched the phone from her hand.

"If you ever want to see your wife again, you will bring that ring to me." The Mandarin pushed the 'end call' button, and threw it back to the follower he got it from. He clasped his hand behind him, and walked back up to his thrown. He sat down, and rested his arms on the new arm rests. "Keep her locked up for now, she may come in handy," he said to them. "But if her husband does not reveal himself in the next couple of days, you know what to do." She began sobbing again as the black bag was placed back over her head, and two members dragged her away by her arms. The Mandarin watched with delight as she was taken away, kicking and screaming, just like a spoiled child. Once she had been taken away, and silence had engulfed the room once more, one of the members approached him.

"Master, if I may?" he asked as he bowed before him. The Mandarin looked down to him.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked.

"Master, will this setback greatly affect the ceremony?" he asked, timidly. His master laughed at such a question. He calmed down before answering his minion's question.

"This is a minor problem. The ceremony will proceed as planned, and I will have the ring back by that time. Now that I have Chen's wife, he knows I mean business, and if he wants to see her alive again, he will bring me that ring," he explained calmly.

"But Master, the machine isn't finished. My men have searched high and low for an applicable power source for what your father designed it to do. How will you power it?" he asked, fearing his backlash. The Mandarin smirked at him.

"Tony Stark will help me to do so, without his knowledge," he said. "With the help of Iron Man himself, I will claim what is rightfully mine." He paused a moment. "World domination, just as my ancestor intended."

* * *

Chen Yong pressed the button on his phone to delete the message his wife had left him. He cried as he clung to the phone. "I'm sorry, Ming," he said to the phone. "I'm so sorry." He clutched it tighter as he continued to sob for his wife, who he knew he would never see again. He had to do something. He couldn't wander through the streets of Hong Kong for another week, that was almost more dangerous than facing the Mandarin himself. He wiped his eyes, and placed the phone back in his jacket. He got to his feet, and started walking. Growing up on the streets of this city had come with some advantages. He knew people, and he knew what businesses were around. After walking for about a half an hour, he came to a custom jewelry shop. He opened the door and walked in. Necklaces, bracelets, belly-rings, all kinds of every piece of jewelry known to man were hanging up, and in every color as well.

"Can I help you?" asked the middle-aged man from behind the counter. Chen walked over to him, and pulled something out of his pocket.

"Can you duplicate this?" he asked, handing the man a ring. The man took it, and inspected it all around.

"Wow, this is a very complicated piece of jewelry," he said, admiring the symbols and engravings it had on the inside. "I would need at least two days to properly copy it."

"I'll double your fee if you can have it to me by tomorrow afternoon," Chen said. The man looked up to him in shock. "Can you handle that?" he asked. The man nodded.

"Yeah, sure. You'll have an exact copy by tomorrow afternoon," he said.

* * *

It was the wee hours of early morning in Hong Kong once Tony and Pepper had reached his penthouse in the more upper class neighborhood of the city. Tony flicked on the light switch, and almost every light in the whole penthouse came on. It really was a big and beautiful place. Out of all the penthouses that Tony owned, this had to be one of Pepper's favorites. The room was open, no walls separating the living room from the kitchen, except the huge couch in front of the large flat screen television that barely got watched. "Huh," Tony said he pulled his suit case behind him.

"What?" she asked, setting her things down in front of the island in the kitchen.

"I definitely need to have Jarvis uploaded here," he said, settling his things next to hers.

"Why?" she asked in confusion.

"That way I'll have the place on total voice command," he said with a smirk. Pepper rolled her eyes, and walked over to the couch.

"Yes, Tony. God forbid you have to press buttons to open the window shades or turn on the fire," she said sarcastically as she slowly lowered herself to the soft cushions.

"Well, if you insist," he said as he grabbed a remote from the counter and pointed it towards the shades. He pressed a button and the shades began to pull back, revealing Hong Kong at night time, with many lights still flickering from the streets below. He then pointed it to the fireplace, pressed another button, and the fire came alive with a poof. "Am I good or what?" he asked. She turned her head to him, and just glared at him.

"I was being sarcastic about the fire you know," she said.

"I know, I just wanted to see your expression," he said, then blew on the remote as if it was a smoking gun, twirled it around his finger, then placed it in his pocket as if settling his gun back in its hoister. After watching him do that, Pepper broke out laughing. He looked so silly doing that with a remote, of all things. "Do I amuse you?" he asked, walking over to her.

"Yes," she said, once she calmed down. "Yes, you do, actually."

"Glad I could appease you." Suddenly, he turned around, and flopped over the couch backwards, landing with his back against the seat cushions. Pepper giggled as she rolled her eyes.

"What in the world am I going to do with you?" she asked as he straightened himself out.

"I don't know, same thing you've been doing for the past ten years," he said as he laid his head on her lap.

"Comfy?" she asked, looking down to him.

"Yes, very, thank you for asking," he said, smiling up to her. She shook her head, closed her eyes, and laid her head back. She placed one hand on his chest and the other found its way into his hair, running her fingers through the ebony strands and occasionally lightly scratching his scalp. Tony grunted at the sensation as he covered the hand on his chest with one of his own. "That feels nice," he said.

"Yeah, it does," she said, continuing the movement. "You know, Tony, we should try to get some sleep, we've got a long day ahead of us," she said.

"I'm wide awake," he said, hoping she wouldn't stop rubbing his head.

"I know, Tony, I am too. But the jetlag will catch up with us real quick if we don't at least try to get some hours of sleep," she explained. Tony sighed and looked up to her.

"You can go ahead if you want. I'll just stay here and watch TV for a little while," he said.

"Tony, you don't understand mandarin," she said smiling.

"Well, as long as the subtitles are on, I should be good," he said, smiling back up to her.

"Alright," she said, moving to get up off the couch.

"You can have the master bedroom, and I'll crash out here for tonight," he said as he raised his head off her lap. She looked at him, stunned that he would even suggest that.

"Okay, thank you," she said as she leaned over and kissed him. She rose off the couch and walked over to the kitchen and gathered her things. "But please, please, for the love of God, Tony, try to get some sleep."

"Okay, I will try." He paused a moment. "Of course, if I have a bad dream I may need to come get in bed with you," he said with a wide grin on his face. Pepper snorted.

"If that'll be the only way you can get some sleep," she called behind her as she walked to the bedroom.

A little later, Tony cracked the door to the bedroom open. It was dark, and he could hear her steady breathing. "Pepper?" he whispered. No answer. He entered the room, and closed the door. One handy trait of the arc was that he could see where he was walking, as well as his surroundings. He saw her form lying on the bed, with her back towards him, and covered up by the sheets. He walked over to the bed, pulled back the covers, and got in the bed. He pulled the covers back over them, moved up behind her, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Suddenly, she began to move slightly, then jumped in surprise.

"Tony?" she asked.

"I had a bad dream," he said. She grunted as she settled back on the bed.

"I knew if I said something, you would take advantage of it," she said, placing her arm over his to hold him to her.

"Well, I did wait like twenty minutes before coming in here," he said. His voice was dripping with satisfaction.

"Just get some sleep, Tony."

"Okay."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hi guys, I'm back! I am extremely sorry that I haven't updated in over a week. In my defense, I did have a family emergency, so that prohibited me from writing. Nothing big, but it is taken care of now, so everything is good. I do plan to update two chapters a week, maybe more if I can write that fast. Also, you guys don't need to worry, I will finish this thing. It is unfair to you guys, as well as myself to not finish it. I am also sorry that is chapter isn't as long as the others, but I did feel I needed to give the Mandarin some 'screen time.' Lord…anyway. I need to thank phennie for checking on me. Honey, feel free to bother me, anytime you want, especially when you feel I haven't updated fast enough, LOL! Anyway, hope you guys like this one, in my opinion, it wasn't as good as the other chapters, maybe because there wasn't a lot of Tony/Pepper action, but it will get better, I promise.


	5. Chapter Four

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Four

It was now 7:30 AM in Hong Kong. Tony walked down the hallway back to the master bedroom carrying a tray with breakfast. He carefully nudged the door open and peeked inside. She still lay on her side with her back towards him. As quietly as he could, he walked over to the side table and placed the tray down on top of it. He straightened out his robe, and sat down beside her. He really didn't want to wake her up, but he had to. They did have a busy day ahead them, but he was nice enough to get up early and make breakfast, the least she could do was wake up and enjoy it. He placed an arm in front of her and braced himself as he leaned down to her ear. "Honey," he began to whisper. "The baby's crying."

"Not funny," she said, keeping her eyed closed. Tony snickered and nudged her temple lovingly with his forehead.

"So you were already awake?" he asked.

"Tony, I woke up when the door creaked open. You do know you have the stealth of a hippo, right?" she asked, eyes still closed.

"For the record, I was trying to be quiet," he said, defending himself. He kissed her temple and patted her hip. "Come on, Potts, get up. I made breakfast," he said while moving off the bed. Her eyes shot open, and her torso rocketed up off the bed, turning to see what he had done now.

"You made breakfast?" she asked, fearfully. Tony looked over to her to see her eyeing the tray, then back up to him.

"You know," he began, standing up straight, eyebrows narrowed, and placing a fist on his hip. "I have gotten better." Pepper snorted.

"Tony, I hate to tell you this, but that is debatable," she said while shaking her head. He grunted and settled the tray on the bed.

"I'll have you know, that I have been taking lessons from Emeril himself," he said triumphantly, while settling back down beside her. Pepper was taken aback.

"Really?" she asked, surprised by the fact that he would actually take lessons from someone.

"Well, not in person. Jarvis pulled up his show and that's what I've been taking lessons from," he said, arranging the plates on the tray. A small smile grew on her face as she looked at him. He set her plate on her side of the tray and looked back up to her. "What?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing." She continued to smile at him, then leaned over to him and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome. I had to do something on your actual birthday," he said, while lifting the cover of the plate. "Now quit stalling and try it." When she saw what was underneath the cover, she had to admit that she was impressed. It looked like an omelet, not a dead fish, and it actually smelled like an omelet, too.

"Tony, that smells really good," she said, taking her fork and cutting off a small piece. He watched her as she brought the fork to her lips, and took the small piece in her mouth. His eyebrows rose as he anxiously awaited her response. "It's delicious, Tony, really," she said as she cut off another bite.

"Good," he said with a proud grin on his face, then turning to his own plate.

"I'm kind of anxious to see what else you can do now," she said, mouth full of omelet. Tony's fork stopped mid way to his mouth and looked over to her.

"Um…" he began. She looked up to him and he gave her a nervous smile.

"You mean to tell me you've spent the past three months, learning how to make this one thing?" she asked, unbelievingly.

"Pepper, I was trying to get the technique down, okay? I wanted it to be perfect," he said, trying desperately to defend himself. Pepper sighed.

"So the only food you know how to cook is an omelet?" she stated, more than asked as she turned back to her breakfast. Tony snorted.

"Not true. I know how to bake a frozen pizza," he stated. Pepper's fork fell back to her plate with a ding as she glared at him. "It may take me a couple of tries, but I _can_ do it," he said. She laughed and shook her head.

Pepper finished all of her omelet, where as Tony had barely eaten half of his. He hadn't been eating well lately, and if she recalled correctly, she didn't remember him eating anything at all yesterday. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later, but right now, they needed to get moving. The ceremony for the opening of the new branch was scheduled to start in an hour, and with the Hong Kong morning traffic, it looked like they were not going to make it on time.

"Tony, we have to go," she called to him from the living room, neatly stacking some papers and placing them in her bag.

"No need to yell, I'm right here," she heard him say from behind her. She turned and saw that his back was towards her.

"Tony, what are you doing?" she asked, putting her bag down.

"Nothing," he said, way too quickly. She hurried over to him and saw him shooting down the last traces of his drink.

"Tony!" she exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. "It is way too early for that, especially right now!" she said, her voice rising.

"Pepper, I just had one, it's not like I had the whole bottle," he said in a strangled voice, feeling the burning sensation travel down his esophagus. She marched over to him, grabbed the glass from his hand and slammed it on the counter.

"Tony, I'm serious, okay?" she said, while straightening up his jacket. "You need to be on your best behavior today. This is a very important stepping stone in the expansion of the company, and the press would have a field day if you showed up slurring your words." Tony sighed, exasperated.

"Pepper, I just had one for…" he trailed off when she glared into his eyes. "Good measure?" he said with uncertainty. She growled and looked back down to his jacket. "You know it takes a lot for me to get a little tipsy," he said as she straightened his tie.

"Yes, and I'd prefer you didn't test that assumption today, okay?" she said, while avoiding his eyes.

"Assumption? What do you mean assumption?" he asked, offended that she would even say that.

"Tony, please," she said while walking back over to the couch and grabbing her bag. "Happy is already downstairs waiting for us, okay? Come on, we have to go." She walked towards the door, and turned back to him. He was just staring at her, with a blank look on his face. "Are you coming?" she asked. Tony grunted and began walking to her.

They rode the elevator down in silence. The morning had started out well enough, but he wondered how in the world it had turned so quickly. He thought about it a moment, then realized it was around the moment she said he assumed that it took a lot for him to get drunk. He just shook his head. How long had she been with him? As his assistant, over ten years, so she should know that herself. The elevator ceased and the doors opened. They exited, and walked to the entrance of the building, still not saying anything to each other. They walked through the rotating doors, and walked up to the parked car at the curb. Pepper opened the door, got in, and slid over to make room for Tony.

"Happy, step on it, and don't get us killed," Pepper said once Tony had closed the door.

"Yes, ma'am," he said and began to pull away from the building. Tony looked over to Pepper, who had dug out her phone and was typing away, as usual.

"What is your problem?" he blurted out. She narrowed her eyes toward him and slowly turned her head to him. Okay, maybe that was the wrong choice of words because the creepy scene with the spinning head of Linda Blair from the Exorcist immediately came to mind.

"I don't have a problem, Tony," she said then turned back to her phone. "You should watch it with these assumptions, they might get you in trouble one day."

"That is what I'm talking about," he said, turning his whole body towards her.

"Oh God, Tony," she began, rolling her eyes.

"Where do you get off on saying that I don't know how much my body can handle?" he asked, pissed off. She sighed loudly, and rubbed her head. They really didn't need to be doing this right now.

"Tony, I never said that," she said, turning her body towards him and pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, really?" he asked, purposefully sounding like a smart ass.

"Yes, really, as a matter of fact. You said that I knew it took a lot for you to get tipsy. Then I said I would prefer it if you didn't test that assumption today."

"Meaning it doesn't take a whole lot for me to start babbling like an idiot," he said bluntly.

"Tony, I never said that," she said while shaking her head.

"No, but that's what you meant, is it not?" he asked.

"No, Tony, that is not what I meant." Now she was beginning to get pissed.

"Really?" he asked, settling back into his seat.

"Yes, really, Mr. Stark," she said, still looking at him. Tony smirked, now they were back to professionalism.

"Then please, enlighten me Miss Potts," he said, arms crossing over his chest.

"I meant I would prefer you didn't test _my_ knowledge of how much it takes." That surprised him, big time, like a slap in the face. He looked over to her, but she sighed and turned back around in her seat, and went back to typing on her phone. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before she spoke again. "It does worry me, you know," she whispered, not taking her eyes off her phone. He looked over to her and saw she had a death grip on her phone, not to mention she was red from the neck up. He sighed and reached for the hand closest to him. He expected her to move away from him, but she let him take her hand, and hold it. He watched her as she closed her eyes, took a couple of breaths, and just sat the phone down in her lap. He turned his head and looked out the window, while rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She squeezed his hand tightly in hers. They didn't say anything else during the ride.

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the new Stark Industries branch. Thankfully, traffic hadn't been that bad, granted Hong Kong wasn't the most populated city in China, but it was one of the more populated cities no less. Happy pulled the car around to the back entrance of the building and idled the car for them to get out. Pepper went to open her door, but Tony stopped her. She looked up to him and saw him staring at her. His eyes were sad, and he tried his best to put on a small smile. Her shoulders fell as she sighed. She knew what he was trying to do, but with the lack of practice over the years, she knew apologizing didn't come easy to him. She leaned over to him and kissed his cheek.

"We'll talk later, okay?" she said. He nodded his head, and before he could answer she was moving out of her side of the car.

"I'll park the car and be right in, Boss," Happy said to Tony.

"Alright, Hogan." Tony shut the door and Happy drove off. "Alright, Potts, how is this thing gonna go down?" he asked, converting to boss mode as they walked into the building.

"Well," she began, pulling her phone back out. "The opening ceremony is going to take place in the main lobby. You'll give a speech, here it is." She handed him note cards. Tony began skimming through them. "Then you'll introduce the branch manager, his name is Gene Kahn by the way, you've spoken with him several times over the phone. He may say a few words and then both of you will answer any questions the press may have." She heard Tony grunt and turned her head to look at him. "What is it?" He held the card up and showed her a line.

"I am not saying that," he said with finality.

"Oh yes, you are," she said, challenging his decision.

"Oh no, I'm not," he shot back.

"Yes you are, and that's final, Tony," she said. Tony gritted his together, she had won, again.

"Fine, what else?" he asked, sounding like a spoiled child. He even crossed his arms over his chest and began to pout like one.

"Afterwards, you and Mr. Kahn are going to give a tour of the building," she said as they came to a hallway with a huge glass window.

"Now, this was a great idea," Tony said as he stopped and looked out the window. Pepper stopped and turned to see what he was looking at.

"Wow, Tony," she said, completely in awe.

"I know I was thinking the same thing," he said. The garden was magnificently vast with all sorts of flowers scattered everywhere. There was a stone path that led through the garden, then to a bridge that led to a Chinese style gazebo. The pond in the garden was a pretty good size as well, complete with a waterfall, and a stream that curved throughout the entire garden.

"What made you want to put a garden in the building?" she asked as they watched a worker release some cod fish into the pond.

"Well, I felt it would be wise to allow the culture to influence some of the décor. Plus everybody seems to be self-conscience about the environment nowadays, I felt this could boost our support even more." She turned her head to look at him, and he smirked at her. "There is a purpose for this garden, Pepper. It'll be explained during the tour," he explained to her.

"Okay," she said, nodding.

"Is that all for today?" he asked, going back to boss mode.

"Business wise, and then there is the celebratory ball tonight, for us to say 'thank you' to our many supporters."

"And you brought your birthday present for that, right?" he asked.

"Yes, Tony, I brought it." She rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he said, turning to walk to the lobby. Pepper quickly followed behind him as he walked towards the main lobby. It seemed like a normal lobby, it was definitely a huge room, complete with an information desk for visitors, a glass ceiling, and a long window that displayed the garden. In front of the window a stage was set up, with lots of chairs lined up in front of it. They both stood there and looked around. Tony had just seen the blueprints of the building; he had to admit it was really impressive.

"Ginny?" Pepper spun around quickly, wondering who in the world was using her college nickname. She gasped and a smile grew on her face.

"Melina!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to the woman. Both of the women squealed with delight and hugged each other. Tony's eyes got wide, he had never heard a noise come out of Pepper like that before, not to mention he had also never seen her get excited and throw her arms around someone. "Oh my God!" she said, arms still around the woman.

"I know, how long has it been?" Melina asked her, letting her go to look at her.

"Nine, ten years, I think." Both of them laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Mr. Kahn's secretary," she said proudly.

"Really? Wow, good for you." Pepper asked.

"Thank you, and," Melina nudged her shoulder. "I hear you're not doing too bad yourself. Pepper Potts, Personal Assistant to Tony Stark himself, although rumor has it there is more to the 'personal' aspect of your relationship," she said, grin on her face. Pepper rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Honestly, Melina, do you believe everything you read?" Pepper asked, as she winked at her. Melina giggled, then the clearing of a throat caused them to turn around.

"Ginny," Tony started. Pepper glared at him. "May I ask who your friend is?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark, this is Melina Vostokoff. Melina, you know who this is, he needs no introduction." Pepper grinned towards her. Melina held out her hand, and Tony shook it.

"It is an honor to finally meet you Mr. Stark. Truly, a great honor," she said.

"Thank you very much, you're one of the few who I get to hear that from," he said as their hands dropped.

"Oh, I don't believe that. As much as you've done for America, and now China, the whole world is indebted to you."

"Well, Miss Vostokoff, the next time I am summoned to the Senate, you'll be testifying on my behalf."

"It would be an honor to give them a piece of my mind, sir," she said to him. Pepper made a gagging noise, and Melina smacked her arm. "I'm being sincere, Ginny," she said, while laughing.

"Yes, enough about me," Tony began. "What I am more interested in at the moment is how you two know each other," he said, pointing to them.

"We used to work together," Pepper said quickly. Too quickly.

"Really?" Tony asked, looking to Pepper.

"Yes, really," she said, piercing her eyes into him, silently telling him he better drop it if he wanted to live, but he wasn't backing down. He had a feeling there was a very interesting connection between them.

"Where, exactly?" he asked, turning to Melina.

"At the Alexandra Icehouse Modeling Agency," she said. Tony looked back to Pepper, she was blushing and fuming at the same time.

"That is very interesting," he said, not looking away from her.

"Ginny never told you?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Oh, I knew she modeled, I just didn't know to what extent," he said looking to Melina, then back to Pepper.

"We were the top models at the agency, weren't we, Ginny?" Melina asked, looking to her. Pepper tore her gaze from Tony and looked to her friend.

"Yes. Yes, I must admit we were," she said, trying her best to keep her cool.

"And the most requested, as well." Pepper sighed.

"Yes, out of all the models there, we were requested the most," she said, the blush on her cheeks getting deeper in color.

"And it was even better when they requested us together. Oh, Mr. Stark, you should hear some of the stories about the chaos we created back in the day."

"Oh, no he shouldn't," Pepper said, trying desperately not to look at Tony, for fear that blasted grin of his would be showing.

"Oh my God, we did so many photo shoots together. Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, even a couple of Prada shoots in New York. Oh, and how could I forget the Fredrick's of Hollywood shoot, that one was a lot of fun."

"Okay! Anyway," Pepper said while clapping her hands together, grin plastered on her face, trying her best not to show embarrassment.

"And the fashion shows," Melina continued as if she hadn't heard Pepper. Tony just continued to listen with interest. "They were chaotic back stage, but the cities were awesome. Do you remember Prague?" she asked Pepper.

"Oh, yes, I remember Prague very well," she said nodding, really wanting to drop the subject now.

"And Madrid, and Paris? Oh god, I loved Paris, that was probably my favorite one," Melina said, getting lost into one of her memories.

"Paris was lovely," Pepper sighed, knowing she had to just ride it out until Melina got it out of her system.

"Of course there were others, London, Tokyo, Milan, even here in Hong Kong, but I must say Paris was the crowned jewel of them all," Melina said, looking to her, innocent smile pasted on her face. Pepper laughed and shook her head. "We had a lot of fun," Melina said, directing her attention back to Tony.

"Yes, it certainly sounds like it," he said, looking to her, then to Pepper. She was purposefully not looking at him, he would get her for that later.

"Melina?" They turned and saw a Chinese man walking towards them.

"Oh, where are my manners. This is Gene Kahn," she said. "Mr. Kahn, you know who this is." Tony held out his hand and Mr. Kahn took it.

"Mr. Stark, finally we meet," he said while taking Tony's hand in his. "Let me say it is an honor to have the privilege of working for you and your fine company," he said, shaking Tony's hand with both of his hands.

"The honor is all mine, Mr. Kahn, you do have a very impressive resume," Tony said, smiling at the man, even though he was almost shaking his hand off.

"Thank you, sir, for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful company. You are bringing a new era to Hong Kong."

"Well, hopefully this will be the 'big bang' of a new beginning for the company," Tony said.

"Oh yes, Mr. Stark, there will indeed be a big bang," Mr. Kahn said while nodding his head. "My apologies, but I must borrow Melina. I need your help with something," he said, turning to Melina.

"Yes sir, Mr. Kahn," she said.

"Mr. Stark," he said, shaking Tony's hand again.

"Miss Potts," he said, now shaking Pepper's hand. "Melina has told me so much about you, and I promise we will talk later." Pepper smiled nervously.

"Oh, you're too kind," she said. Finally, Melina left with Mr. Kahn, and Pepper sighed in relief. She turned, but came face to face with Tony, arms crossed and that cocky smirk on his face. "What?" she asked annoyed, while walking by him.

"Oh, nothing, Ginny," he said, turning to follow her. Pepper rolled her eyes, and walked to the front row of seats and sat down. She pulled her phone back out, and went to work. Tony wasn't buying it. He sat down beside her, and turned to look at her. He propped his head on his arm, which was resting on the back of the chair, and just waited for her to break.

"I'm ignoring you," she said, eyes still focused on her phone.

"You're doing a very poor job of it, Ginny," he said, making use of her nickname. She sighed in frustration and turned to look at him.

"Would you please stop calling me that?" she asked, cheeks flushed. Tony couldn't stop the grin forming on his face.

"You know, you're cute when you're mad," he said. She grunted and turned away from him.

"I'm not mad, I'm…frustrated. There's a difference," she explained.

"Really? Well, would you care to elaborate on the reason of your frustration, Pepper?" he asked, finally going back to the name he gave her.

"You know damn well why," she said.

"Uh uh, you should watch it with those assumptions, Potts, they might get you in trouble," he said. She slammed her phone down to her lap, and glared hard at him.

"I am done talking to you," she said, turning back to her phone.

"Fine, while you're busy trying to ignore me, I have to start on some research," he said, turning to sit correctly in his seat, while digging for the little transparent computer screen he carried around with him. Pepper snorted.

"Who are you Googling now, Melina? Making sure she's properly qualified to work for your company?" she said, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Why would I want to Google her for?" he asked.

"I don't know, probably for the same reason why you Googled Natasha, or Natalie, or whatever her real name is," she said. Tony grunted.

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again, green is not your best color."

"You've got a lot of nerve to _assume_ I'm even jealous of those two," she said, anger almost boiling over. "Anyway, I'm glad you didn't bother to look me up, it would've felt like an invasion of my privacy, even if you had managed to get a couple of minutes away from whatever tramp you were sleeping with at the time."

"For your information," he began through gritted teeth, leaning over to her ear. "The reason why I never looked you up is because you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and I really didn't need the images of you in your underwear in my head while trying to work with you," he tried to explain.

"How would you know I modeled in my underwear?" she asked, a little anxious at the fact that he might have actually seen some of her pictures already.

"I am just saying in general."

"Uh huh," she said not believing him.

"You don't have to believe me, Pepper. I respected you too much to do so, and now that you are officially _my woman_, I think I have the right to know what pictures there are posted of you all over the internet, okay?" He turned back to the mini screen and began to type.

"What?" she asked startled.

"You heard me, I'm Googling you," he said, eyes still on the screen.

"You can't do that, Tony, not now," she said, getting nervous.

"Why not now?"

"Because a very important ceremony is about to take place," she said through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong Pepper? Did you do a shoot for Playboy, too?" Before she could answer, the first image of her came up wearing an indigo silk shirt with matching panties. "Whoa." Pepper didn't bother to look, she just covered her eyes with her hands. "Now, the only thing that would make this picture better is if the shirt you were wearing was actually mine." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"If you're going to Google me, can you at least look at the more conservative pictures?"

"Why would I want to do that?" He continued to look through the pictures and found one. "Oh my God," he breathed out. She was lying on her back, on a huge ottoman, wearing nothing but black lace. "This one is my new desktop wallpaper," he said as he began to press on the screen.

"Tony!" she exclaimed, while trying to take the thing from his hand.

"Hey, hey, I don't take away your toys, so don't take away mine," he said, while moving her hands away. Pepper sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Seriously, though, that's going on all the computers back home." Pepper just shook her head. "I'll try to find one of me that's just as sexy as this for your computer, okay?" he said sweetly into her ear.

"This is so embarrassing," she mumbled.

"No it's not, this is sexy as hell. Now I'm kicking myself in the head for not doing this sooner. I wonder what the hell was distracting me," he said.

"Every blonde and brunette in the world," she stated.

"Okay, so I deserved that one." He continued to look through the pictures, until he found one with her in a leather bike suit. "Wow. Now that is sexy. Granted, you've got clothes on, but it's sexy nonetheless." Pepper leaned over to see which one it was.

"Oh, I still have that suit," she said. Tony's head snapped towards her.

"You do?" he asked, not believing he just heard that.

"Yeah, I wear it every time I ride my Ninja 650R." Tony just stared at her.

"That's gotta be the sexiest thing you've ever said," he said. Pepper was stunned for a moment, then smiled sweetly.

"So, you like the image of me in leather, with a fuel-injected motorcycle between my legs?" she asked.

"Oh god," he grunted as he hunched over, taking deep breaths.

"Pants getting uncomfortable, Mr. Stark?" she asked, innocently.

"That's not funny, Pepper," he said, glaring at her.

"Oh, yes it is," she said, smirking.

"No it's not," he whined to her.

"You brought this upon yourself, you know," she said, no sympathy in her voice.

"What exactly did I do wrong?" he asked.

"You were trying to capitalize on my embarrassment," she said.

"Not your embarrassment," he said as he leaned up. "Your experience as a very smart, talented and beautiful woman," he explained. She finally smiled a genuine smile.

"Thank you," she said, then turned back to her phone. They sat there for a few moments before he slowly leaned over to her ear.

"Am I off the hook?" he asked.

"Not even close," she said.

"Thought so, but I still meant it."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **OMG! In all seriousness, I for real did not know it was going to be that long when I wrote it. Whew! This one was delayed because when I first wrote it and read over it, some of the dialogue didn't seem like them and it just didn't flow right to me. So, some scenes were rewritten. Anyway, here you guys go! Also, this is just for anybody who wants to participate, I have a poll going on my profile, just an 'in general' question, nothing big. Vote if you want, everybody is welcomed. Enjoy! Don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter Five

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** OH...MY...GOSH! I swear man, talk about writer's block. In a time frame of two weeks, I only had one sentence down. I drew a complete blank, omg, that had never happened to me like that before. Whoa! Anyway, I am back, sorry it took so long to update but I did need to figure a couple of things out before I could actually complete the chapter. Special thanks to my mom for helping me, because she works with metals and chemicals and knows how this stuff works. Hope this was worth the wait, next chapter will be better, I swear!

Once again, I don't own Iron Man, and please read and review! xoxo

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Five

Rhodey opened the door of his escort car and walked inside the building. He was fully dressed in his Air Force blues, and straightened up his jacket as he walked to the main lobby. He looked around and saw workers still putting up decorations and handling last minute preparations. Looking around the room, his attention diverted over to the seats and saw Tony and Pepper sitting in the front row. With a sigh he began walking towards them, but stopped when his phone began ringing. He grunted and pulled it out, not even bothering to look at the Caller ID to see who it was. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Rhodes," he said into the phone.

"Alright Rhodes, I've made some phone calls, you can bring in Stark to help with the suit," he heard his commanding officer say. Rhodey sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much, Colonel," he said.

"However, you are not to speak a word of this to Stark until you two get back to the states, is that clear?"

"Yes Sir, very clear," he said, while nodding his head to the phone.

"Good, see you when you get back," and the line on the other end went silent. Rhodey took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, he could finally relax a little. He replaced the phone in his jacket pocket and continued walking to Tony and Pepper.

"I'm just saying it's an option," he heard Tony say. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"No, it's not," she said shaking her head, slightly raising the pitch of her voice.

"Yes, it is," he said nodding his head, mocking the pitch of her voice.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite seals," Rhodey said walking up to them.

"Oh Lord." Tony rolled his eyes and grunted while Pepper smirked at him.

"Hi Rhodey," she said.

"Hi Pepper." Rhodey sat down beside Tony, who just looked down and pressed on his transparent computer screen, completely ignoring him. "Hi Tony," he said. Tony slightly smirked.

"Hi Platypus," he said, eyes still focused on the screen. Rhodey shook his head at the return of his nickname.

"Alright, so I can tell I was interrupting a very important conversation, would either one of you care to elaborate?" he asked them.

"Trust me, Rhodey, it's nothing. We were having a difference of opinion, that's all," she said while glaring at Tony. Tony glared right back.

"Really? Wow, three months in and I get to witness the first fight, awesome," he said, laughing.

"We were not fighting, Platypus, okay? I just told her that if she wanted to return to her modeling job part time, I didn't mind," Tony said, turning to Rhodey and looking at him.

"And I told him that I had a job and didn't need another one," she said, looking at Tony. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes, not letting her see him.

"You were a model, Pepper?" Rhodey asked her. Pepper sighed; she really didn't want to go through this again.

"Yes, Rhodey, I was once a model," she said.

"Huh. Tony, why didn't you ever mention that?" he asked him. Tony clenched his jaw shut, and Rhodey just looked at him, trying to keep from laughing. Tony quickly turned away from him, seriously wanting to punch that grin off his face.

"I felt that detail in her resume was on a need-to-know basis," he said, not looking at him.

"Really? Pepper, you do know Tony has always had a thing for models, right?" Rhodey asked her. Tony sucked in air through his clenched teeth and turned back to Rhodey.

"That's it, old man," Tony said, poking a finger into his chest. Rhodey couldn't help but begin laughing. "You think this is funny?" he asked him, almost yelling.

"Yes, actually I do."

"Tony, stop it," Pepper quietly said, pulling on Tony's arm for him to settle down. She looked over to Rhodey. "And you, stop instigating him." Tears rolled down Rhodey's cheeks as he laughed hysterically. Tony grunted and turned to sit normally. Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head while following suit. All three of them sat in silence while Rhodey got over his laughing fit. Once he finally calmed down, the silence became awkward. Rhodey chanced a glance to the side, and saw Pepper and Tony hard at work at both of their respective handheld devices, with Pepper looking a little less agitated than Tony. Rhodey turned to face forward and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

_Alright, so maybe it wasn't a good idea to tease him about that,_ Rhodey thought to himself. He brought his hand down and sighed and opened his mouth to say something.

"So, Rhodey," Pepper began before he could get the words out. "I know you are just presenting at the ceremony, but do you have a speech prepared?" she asked, trying to relieve some of the awkwardness of the moment.

"Not really. I was just going to say a few words, then present Tony or Mr. Kahn, whoever is going first," he explained, staring out into space.

"Okay." She nodded. "Tony is going first, by the way," she said. "Right, Tony?" She nudged his shoulder. He made no move towards her, just raised his eyebrows and slightly nodded. She looked away from him and sighed. Just by the start of things, she knew it was going to be a long day, especially with those two acting like children. They sat there again, engulfed in the awkward silence. Apparently Tony didn't seem to mind, he just sat there to himself, and fiddled away with his transparent screen. Pepper looked around and tapped her finger tips to her knees, silently praying for something to say, something that didn't sound stupid or desperate. She glanced to the side, and saw Melina's smiling face moving towards her. "Oh, thank God," she said under her breath. In all her life, Pepper had never been happier to see the woman. If anyone could start a conversation, Melina could.

"Hey guys," she said to Tony and Pepper. "And you, sir, I don't think we've met," she said to Rhodey.

"Rhodey, this is Melina, an old friend of mine," Pepper said. They exchanged their greetings and Melina sat down beside Pepper. "So, what's the countdown?" she asked.

"Um," Melina glanced at her watch. "We have about twenty-five minutes till show time. Security should be letting the press in at any minute now." Melina and Pepper continued their conversation and left Tony and Rhodey out of it. The two of them sat there, not saying a word to one another. Tony finally put his screen away and began picking at his nails, getting whatever grease or dirt he could from under them. Actually, he wasn't, he just felt like doing something else besides speaking to the, for a lack of better word, butthole sitting beside him. Tony crossed his arms and began looking around the lobby, anything to keep his mind off the smart-ass comment Rhodey made. He looked up to the beams of the ceiling. He suggested the design, actually. They crissed and crossed across each other, supporting the curved ceiling of the building. It looked pretty good, if he said so himself.

"I'm sorry, Tony." He was brought out of his admiration and back to reality. Tony looked over to Rhodey, who genuinely looked the part. He pursed his lips together, trying desperately not to say something smart because now really wasn't the time. He just simply nodded, and turned his head towards the stage in front of them.

"Rhodey, I'm trying to do this right, okay?" he said to his friend. Rhodey nodded.

"I know, man."

"And by the way, she's worked for me for over ten years, did you honestly think she didn't know that?" he asked him. Rhodey smirked.

"Well, Tony, what I meant to say was her being a model added to your attraction to her," he said. Tony glared at him. "Something like that, anyway."

"Uh huh." Tony pulled out his screen and pressed on it. "Please tell me Rhodey, how could anyone not be attracted to this?" He held the screen in front of him and showed him the picture of her in the leather bike suit.

"Whoa," Rhodey said as his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Hey!" Tony quickly pulled the screen away from him. "No drooling over the girlfriend." Rhodey grunted and held up a hand.

"I swear I will not drool over Pepper, as long as she's your girlfriend," he said. Tony narrowed his eyes towards him, then slowly brought the screen back in front of him. Rhodey took the screen in his hand and just looked at the picture. "Nice," he said as he nodded. "Got anymore?" Before Tony could stop him, Rhodey was flipping through the pictures and found his favorite one. Rhodey choked and Tony snatched the screen out of his hand.

"Alright, that's enough for you," he said as he placed the screen in his jacket pocket. Before Rhodey could reply, a commotion began behind them. All four of them turned around to see a tidal wave of reporters and cameras coming towards them.

"Show time, guys," Pepper said.

"Yep, let's do this," Tony said and got out of his seat.

* * *

Pepper turned and looked over the crowd. There really were a lot of people there, reporters from various networks all around the world, journalists from magazines, even the Hong Kong press was there. The seats that had been set up had already been filled, so everyone else had to stand in the back, left, right, anywhere they could. Television cameras were set up in the center to catch every moment of the ceremony. She turned back around and nodded towards Rhodey, then he approached the podium.

* * *

The ceremony went rather smoothly to Pepper's surprise. Rhodey introduced Tony first, then Tony handed the podium Mr. Kahn. Both she and Melina watched from the front row as both men said a few words. Every few moments during his speech, Tony would glance her way. She smiled at him, and the corner of his lip would twitch up, fighting off a smile. He was nervous, she could tell, but he would never show it. Maybe that was why she caught him in the kitchen sneaking a drink before they left, liquid encouragement. Okay, so maybe she could let that one go, but that didn't explain the fact that two days ago he had a drink first thing in the morning, what was his excuse then? She was brought out of her contemplation the moment they allowed the press to ask questions. Almost everyone jumped to their feet, raising their hand, trying to catch Tony's attention. One by one, the questions were answered; some were even directed to Mr. Kahn, who answered the questions with sincerity and gratitude, almost too much for Pepper's taste. The last time she saw that amount of gratitude it was from Justin Hammer when he was talking in front of the Senate, and they all knew how that turned out. And maybe the man was being genuine, she wasn't sure, but something about him just didn't set well with her, and she wasn't sure why. Finally, they stopped taking questions, and now it was time for the tour of the building. Only a few selected members of the press were allowed to accompany Tony and Mr. Kahn as they gave a tour of the building, which was fine with Pepper, less hype she had to deal with. As the selected members gathered up front, Tony walked off the stage and approached her. He placed a hand on her elbow and leaned over to her ear.

"Stay in the back and watch out for me. No pictures are to be taken," he whispered into her ear. She looked at him and nodded. With that, he let go of her elbow, and he and Mr. Kahn directed the group to follow them.

"Ginny, aren't you coming up?" Melina asked, motioning for her to walk up with her.

"No, I am going to stick in the back," she said while following the crowd. She leaned over to Melina and spoke quietly. "Tony asked me to stay in the back, just in case anyone tried to take pictures," she explained. Melina's eyebrows raised and she nodded.

"Oh, I understand. Well, in that case, I'll stay in the back too, you don't mind do you?" she asked as they walked to the glass hallway. Pepper looked at her.

"Uh, no, I don't mind. Not at all," she said with a smile. They stopped about midway in the glass hallway, and everyone directed their attention to the garden behind the glass. Much to Pepper's surprise, it was a sanctuary for endangered flowers from all over the world. Tony explained they were in a new era, and they all needed to be more conscience about the environment. With the global pollution at an all time high, the plants stored in the sanctuary would be safe from chemicals, parasites, and rodents. The crowd moved on and Pepper and Melina followed close behind them.

The entire tour took about 45 minutes to an hour. They toured almost the entire building from top to bottom, save for the business part of the building. Once you've seen one office, you've seen them all, right? They stopped and watched the production line for a moment, they were very proficient, that was for sure. They saw a couple other things, nothing that the headquarters in California didn't have, except for the new reactor.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tony began, as they all looked through a window at this huge contraption in the center of the room. "I present to you the heart of Stark Industries Hong Kong." Every one ooh-ed and awe-ed at the sight. It was definitely a modern sight, and looked much more updated than the old arc reactor she blew up. Like it, it also had a huge glass donut-thing around it, but this arc reactor glowed turquoise, and would flash every time energy was being dispersed. Pepper was in awe herself, she had never seen anything like it before. She looked down, and saw a few people down on the ground floor with clipboards and looking at computers, obviously monitoring the reactors readings.

"This is my second time seeing it, but it still gives me chills just looking at it," Melina whispered to her.

"I know what you mean," she whispered back.

"This reactor runs the entire building. We'll never have to run on Hong Kong's power grid. However, if it is ever needed to be shut down for, let's say maintenance purposes, there is a solar powered generator that will automatically come on, plus another power source that is kept charged up by the solar generator, can run the building during the night, if the reactor hasn't been brought back up," explained Mr. Kahn.

"How is it that this generator is able to run the entire building, by itself?" asked one of the reporters. Mr. Kahn turned to Tony.

"Mr. Stark, would you care to answer this question?" he asked. Tony grinned.

"I would be glad to. In the center of the reactor is a piece of material about the size of an aluminum can. This material has the capacity to run Hong Kong, by itself, for a very long time," Tony explained.

"This material wouldn't happen to be the new element you discovered, is it Mr. Stark?" asked another reporter. Tony cleared his throat.

"Correction ma'am, I did not discover Starkium, it was discovered by my father. He was unable to make his discovery known because of the fact that technology in the late 1970s wasn't that great," he said, glaring at the woman. Pepper had to bite her lips together to keep from laughing. Starkium, only Tony could have come up with a name like that.

"Why is there a flash every few seconds?" asked another reporter.

"That's a very good question. The energy is projected out of the Starkium a little at a time. However, excess energy builds up and projects itself out, that's why we have a huge circular brick of lead down at the bottom." Tony pointed to the circle at the bottom of the reactor. "If we didn't have that there, we would be replacing every single window in Hong Kong, wouldn't we Mr. Kahn?" Tony asked as he nudged the man.

"Yes, it would definitely be a terrible mess," he said while laughing.

"Alright, ladies and gents, that concludes the tour, if you would please follow us back to the lobby," Tony said, as he turned towards the door. Every one followed suit, and Pepper lagged behind. Good thing she did; out of the corner of her eye she saw a man tuck what looked like a little camera back in his pocket. She followed behind him, and once they were back in the lobby, she stepped in front of him and held out her hand.

"Hand it over, or I'll have security search you, your choice," she said in a tone that meant 'don't play with me.' The man opened his mouth to protest but saw Tony behind her with his arms crossed, with a stern look on his face.

"I'd do what the lady tells you to do, if I were you," he said. The man looked from Tony back to Pepper, still glaring at him and waiting with her hand held up to him. He sighed and took out his camera.

"They're not that great of quality anyway, they're only 8mm," he said with a smug look on his face, while placing the camera in her hand.

"Oh, we'll see about that," she said, gripping the camera in her hand. She backed away and let the man pass. Tony walked over to her, and she held the camera up to him for him to take.

"Thank you." He placed his hand over hers, and dragged his fingers across her hand and he took the camera from her, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him to her.

"Tony, seriously. Starkium?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. Tony snorted and looked at her.

"Pepper, every man that discovers a new element names it after himself. Why can't I do the same thing?" he asked.

"Because _Starkium_ sounds silly. It sounds like something out of an Arthur C. Clarke novel," she said.

"Hey!" He pointed a finger at her. "You better watch it, he's a favorite of mine." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"I know, trust me." She let him go and he placed the little camera in his coat pocket.

"So what now?" he asked, as they walked back out to the crowd.

"We're gonna go outside, and the press can take as many pictures as they want." Tony grunted.

"I really need a drink right now," he said. She looked over to him and rubbed his arm.

"We're almost done, I promise," she whispered to him. They walked to the front door, and walked outside. Many photographers had already set up their equipment and were ready to take the last photos of the day. He sighed and looked over to her.

"Mr. Stark," Mr. Kahn began, walking up behind him. Tony turned and put on a smile for the man.

"Shall we, Mr. Kahn?" he asked, motioning towards the cameras. Pepper walked down the steps, and stood behind the cameras, watching them play up a photo shoot on the front steps of the building. They braced each other by the shoulders, and let the photographers take a few. Then they let each other go, and stood side by side, with their hands crossed in front of them, looking like they were the biggest bad asses on the planet. Pepper laughed and just shook her head.

"They are two of the biggest hams on the planet, aren't they?" Melina asked her. Pepper turned her head and smiled.

"Oh yes, big time." She giggled and turned back to look at them. They now had their arms flexed, as if they were showing off their muscles. Pepper laughed and rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to the people walking behind them. Unconsciously, she adjusted her bag on her shoulder to secure it. She turned her attention back to Tony and Mr. Kahn, but then felt someone forcefully push on her shoulder. She turned to look who it was, and saw a man turning around to look at her while speedily walking. He said something in Chinese, but by judging by the expression on his face, he was excusing himself.

"Um, Ginny," Melina began. Pepper turned and looked at her friend. "I totally forgot to make a phone call earlier. I will be right back, okay?" she explained, with an apologetic look on her face. Pepper smiled.

"Okay, that's fine. Not too important I hope," she said, as her friend began to walk away.

"Oh no," she began. "I just have to catch someone before they leave."

* * *

Chen Yong turned the corner and ran. He was being careless, and he knew better. Walking in front of the new Stark Industries branch was a big mistake; anyone could've seen him. He came to an alley way and turned down it. He had to get as far away as possible. He ran up to a fence blocking his way. Just as he was about to grab it and jump over, he felt himself being hoisted back, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground. He hit his head very hard, and it was difficult to adjust his eyes. He gained some of his vision back, and focused on the figure standing in front of him, looking down on him. The shape was that of a samurai warrior, but the person was much smaller, and too curvy to be one.

"Hello Yong," he heard the person say.

"Maiden?" he asked. Then, everything went black.


	7. Chapter Six

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Wow, this was longer than I thought. Chapters Six and Seven were meant to be one chapter, however after I got done writing it, it was 21 pages long! So I had to divide up. Anyway, you guys know the drill. I don't own Iron Man, blah blah blah. Read and Review!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Six

The Mandarin sat on his throne, tapping his fingers against the armrest. The nine remaining members of the Ten Rings stood lined up in front of him. They stood up straight, but held their heads down, scared to even glance at their master.

"So, let me get this straight," the Mandarin began, rising off his throne, and walking down the stairs to them. "With all the resources available to you all, not one of you have been able to locate Mr. Yong?" He stood in front of them all, and scanned his head back and forth, waiting for an answer. No one said anything. All of them just stood there, not saying a word. The Mandarin nodded his head, turned back around, and began to walk back up to his throne. They all sighed in relief as they watched their master ascend back up to his throne, but that relief was short lived when he stopped one step short of his throne. The next thing they knew, their master was airborne, and the moment his feet hit the ground, he focused his energy on brutally beating them. Heads collided with each other, arms and legs were broken, knees and shoulders were dislocated; this was the worst he had ever lashed out on them. Once every single one of them was down, the Mandarin looked around at each one of them. He was breathing heavily, but more so from his anger, rather than from the lashing he just gave his minions. "This is the last time you fools disappoint me," he growled with each breath he took. He pulled out his blade from underneath his rope. "Who would like to die first?" he asked them.

"Master, please," a female voice said sweetly from the shadows. The Mandarin turned and watched the masked woman, clad in metal armor from head to toe, walk forward to announce her presence. "I've told you once, and I'll say it again, never send a man to do a woman's job." They all could hear the self-satisfaction in her voice. The Mandarin lowered his knife, and for the first time it seemed, he was actually happy.

"The Iron Maiden," he said with a sigh of relief. "I hope _you_ have at least succeeded in your mission." She laughed.

"I have more than succeeded." With that, she forcefully pulled on the chain that she had been holding in her hand, and the person who was on the other end of it stumbled into the light, and collapsed to the ground.

"Once again, my dear, you have out done yourself," he said, walking over to them.

"Master, I am very happy you are pleased with me," she said, walking up to him and bowing before him. "I live to serve you." The Mandarin stopped in front of her, and gently placed a hand on her chin, and raised it so she would look at him.

"I am always pleased with you, Maiden," he said softly. She raised the chain to him with both hands, as if offering a sacrifice. He took it from her, and wrapped it around his hand. She then reached into her suit, and pulled out a smaller chain and held it in front of him.

"He also had this on him." The Mandarin just stared at what was being held in front of him. Slowly, he reached his hand over, and grasped the ring on the end of the chain. He looked at it and caressed it with his other hand, silently thanking whatever supernatural being that was favoring him. He looked back to Iron Maiden, and helped her to stand up.

"You have done well, my dear," he said. He turned around and glanced back to his 'fallen' subordinates. "You all should thank her, she saved every single one of you from dying tonight." With that said, he focused his attention to the man tangled up in the chain. "Mr. Yong. I must say, you are most definitely a hard man to contact," he said while walking over to him. He came up to the man, and kneeled down beside him. Mr. Yong had his face down to the floor, not wanting to look at the ridiculous mask he was wearing. "What? You have nothing to say to your master?" he asked him. Mr. Yong turned his face to him, and glared at him.

"You are not my master," he said, knowing that these words would be certain death for him. The Mandarin was honestly taken aback by his brave words, and he had to laugh. He stood up and began walking away.

"You are a very courageous man, Yong. I like that." He walked over to his minions and threw the chain down to one of them. "Take him to see his wife, but do not let them leave, not yet anyway." The minion nodded his head, and slowly stood up and walked away, dragging the chain and Mr. Yong behind him. "The rest of you may go now and patch up your wounds; I'm suddenly in a good mood." He walked up to his throne and watched them limp away into the shadows. When all of them had left, the only person who remained was Iron Maiden. "Come to me, my dear," he said motioning with his fingers for her to come to him. She held her head up high and walked up to him, and kneeled at his feet. He leaned forward and gently placed a hand on her head; well, he actually placed his hand on the helmet she was wearing, but she got the gesture. "I trust your original mission went well?" he asked her, sitting back. She looked up to him and stood up. She reached into her suit once again, and pulled out a flash drive.

"Everything we need about the reactor is on this drive," she said, handing it to him.

"And what of Black Widow?" he asked, taking the drive from her hand. If she hadn't been wearing a mask herself, he would've seen her grin like the Cheshire Cat.

"In the hospital, with a severe concussion, and possible brain hemorrhaging. It's going to take her a long time to recover, that is _if_ she wakes up," she said giggling. He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You are truly the best thing that has ever happened to me," he said. She looked at him a moment, and grabbed one of his hands, and brought it to her masked lips, mimicking kissing his hand. "It's time to get changed, my dear, we have a party to attend."

* * *

Tony opened the door to the master bedroom fully dressed in his black tux. He looked around and saw a light shining from underneath the bathroom door. He walked over to it and gently knocked on the door.

"Pepper, honey, party time is quickly approaching," he said through the door.

"I'll be out in a minute, I'm almost done," she called through the door. He nodded, like she would've seen him. He sighed and placed his hands in his pockets. This is was strange; he was waiting on his date, usually it was the other way around. He glanced over to the table and saw some of her things neatly placed on it. Her gold-chain necklace laid right beside her diamond stud earrings, which laid beside a bottle of perfume. He walked over to the bottle and picked it up. The bottle itself was shaped like a half circle with a clear plastic flower as the lid. He took the lid off and sprayed some of it in the air. He leaned forward and sniffed the scent. The moment the scent reached him, his nostrils flared, his eyes rolled back and his knees weakened. The perfume itself smelt like orchids, but to him it smelt like Pepper; his Pepper. He leaned against the table to support himself and brought the bottle up to his nose, inhaling the scent as if his life depended on it. Then he heard the knob to the bathroom turning. He scrambled for the perfume lid, and quickly sat it back in its place beside her earrings. He stood up straight and crossed his hands together in front of him, and watched her walk out of the bathroom. He bit his bottom lip and looked her up and down. The dress was red (just like his hot rod; he made particularly sure of that), and silk; and it molded to her curves perfectly. It flowed past her hips, and came all the way down, millimeters from the floor. She stood there nervously shaking; she still wasn't used to Tony looking at her like that, and had to keep reminding herself he was her boyfriend now. "What is it?" she asked, nervous that he would say something negative. His eyebrows rose as he looked at her.

"Oh, um," he said as he looked down her again. "I have to be honest, Pepper." She felt a lump rise in her throat.

'_He doesn't like it, I knew it!' _she screamed at herself. He shook his head.

"My imagination can't compare to this." He looked back up to her grinning. She laughed and her shoulders relaxed while the lump in her throat disappeared.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said while walking over to him.

"Trust me, that most definitely was one." He kept grinning while he took her hands and held them.

"You look very," she paused to think of a word. "Dashing." She grinned and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Dashing?" he asked. "Seriously, Pepper. I'm standing here in a black Armani tuxedo no less, and the only word you can think of is 'dashing'?" he asked. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and tried to think of another word.

"How about 'suave'?" she asked. Tony snorted.

"Who do I look like, Bruce Wayne?" he asked sarcastically. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"'Debonair'?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Okay, I'm not Clark Gable either." She sighed.

"I'm just trying to keep your pride in check, that's all," she said while letting go of his hands. She began to straighten out his tie, then his jacket; for some reason he didn't realize it was crooked.

"My pride? How about my ego?" he asked, sounding a little hurt. She grinned and looked back up to him.

"That too." They stood there for a moment and just stared at each other. "You do look very handsome, Tony," she whispered. He sighed and cleared his throat.

"Beautiful would be an understatement for you," he said. She smiled and bit her lips together nervously. "Um," he looked down nervously and then back up to her. "How about we forget the party, and just stay in tonight?" he asked.

"Tony, I," she began while shaking her head.

"I know what you're thinking," he said while holding a hand up to her to calm her down. "And trust me, once you've been to one of these things, you've been to them all."

"But Tony…"

"Why don't we just order dinner and open up a bottle of champagne and relax for the rest of the night, we do go home tomorrow after all," he said looking into her eyes, occasionally glancing down to the floor. She blinked a couple of times and stared at him. He placed his hands on her biceps and slowly began to rub them. "Come on, what do you say?" he asked, softly smiling at her.

She would never admit it, but whenever he looked at her like that, she would absolutely melt. It was as if he was bearing right into her soul with those beautiful brown eyes she had loved from the beginning, but she'd never tell him that either; God forbid she decided to tell him anything else to make his ego grow any bigger than the size it already was. Maybe he already knew it drove her crazy, that's probably why he did it so much. She had to distract him, she needed to distract him, and she knew just how to.

She sighed and gently rubbed her hands up his chest, and up to his shoulders, lightly pulling him to her. Both sets of eyes closed as their lips met in an eager, but passionate, kiss. They hadn't kissed each other since that morning, and that had been too long, on both their parts. She placed a hand on the back of his neck to hold him to her, and her other arm wrapped around his shoulder. His arms automatically wrapped around her and almost crushed her to him. His left hand came to rest on the bare skin between her shoulder blades, and the finger tips of his right hand dug into the small of her back and unintentionally bunched the material into his fist as he held her close. Still focusing on moving his lips with hers, he began to nudge his legs with hers, slowly backing her up, and getting closer to the bed. His heart was beginning to pound.

'_Oh my god, I can't believe it. Finally, this is it,' _he thought as they got closer. The back of her legs came into the contact with the side of the bed, and Tony pulled back slightly to look at her. She blinked a couple of times to regain her focus and softly smiled at him. Slowly, she slid her hands down to the front of his chest, grabbed his lapels, and threw him down to the bed, knocking him out of the trance he was in. Before he could say anything, she straddled his waist, and pinned his hands to the sides of his head. Tony nervously swallowed; he had never seen her like this before, and he kind of liked it. She leaned down as if to kiss him again, and his eyes began to close on their own. However, when he didn't feel her lips after a second or two his eyes popped back open, and saw that she had stopped just centimeters away. She smirked and leaned back up.

"You owe me a drink, so no." With that, she got off of him and left the bedroom.

"Pepper!" he yelled to her, obviously frustrated. He sat up and gritted his teeth. "This close," he mumbled under his breath while holding his thumb and index finger up, showing himself just how close he came to 'getting some'. He took a couple of breaths and closed his eyes, trying desperately to regain his focus.

"Come on, Tony, we're gonna be late," he heard her yell to him.

'_Oh no, she did not just yell at me,'_ he thought as he got off the bed and walked into the living room. He straightened up his jacket and watched her reapply her lip gloss. She glanced over to him, then replaced her gloss in her hand bag.

"Alright, let's go," she said, then walked to the elevator. Tony rolled his eyes and followed her in. She waited for him to get in before she pressed the ground floor button. The doors closed and she looked over to him. He was standing on the other side of the elevator, putting as much space between them as he possibly could. She sighed and walked over to him. He stared straight in front of him, not wanting to give her the time of day right now for what she did to him in the bedroom. She opened her hand purse, and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here, so you can wipe my lip gloss off your mouth." Hesitantly, he took it, still not looking at her. He quickly wiped his mouth, and shoved it back to her.

"I am not happy with you right now," he growled at her.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I remembered deodorant this time?" she told him, innocently smiling at him. His eyes quickly diverted to her, but then went straight again.

"You're just trying to change the subject," he whined while crossing his arms. She giggled.

"So you did like it," she said sounding proud of herself.

"That is beside the point," he shot back. The elevator doors opened, and they walked out to the car.

* * *

By the time they arrived to the party hall, Tony had completely forgotten why he had been mad, mainly because he shared a couple of shots with Pepper. He was about to pour a third, but Pepper took the bottle away from him.

"Look, we're here, okay? No more until we get inside," she said while replacing the cap on the bottle. Tony grunted and stuck out his bottom lip. She rolled her eyes and waited for their turn to be let out from the car. There were a few cars in front of them, and when she looked out the rear window she saw an even longer line. She sighed and turned back around, finally getting to see the red carpet in front of the entrance to the hall. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw just how many photographers were there.

"Pep, what is it?" he asked, placing his hand on top of hers. She quickly looked to him and back at the pandemonium she knew was waiting just for them.

"I, um…" she cleared her throat. "I didn't realize there were going to be that many photographers when we got here." Tony looked out the window and saw them. Turning back to her, he smiled.

"You want to walk in separately, is that what you're saying?"

"No, no," she quickly said while shaking her head. "I just…"

"Listen," he said, grabbing her hand and looking her in the eyes. "Just smile, stop and pose, and don't say anything. That's what they want you to do." She nodded. "Follow my lead, okay?"

"Tony, I don't think…" She didn't get it out, the door opened and they both heard the crowd outside beckoning for them.

"Let's do this," he said. He let go of her hand and exited the car, putting on that famous 'Tony Stark' smirk for all of them to see. He turned and held out his hand for her. She took it, and he pulled her out of the car. She was so scared she didn't even realize he had entwined their fingers, and he was holding her hand very close to his chest. From that point on, she was on autopilot, or manual; she couldn't tell if her body was cruising along itself, or if it was Tony helping her along. She did hear some questions being asked, but was too busy being blinded by the flashing light bulbs to really care. Finally, they entered the hall.

"Oh my god," she breathed out.

"I know, I'm glad that's over, too," he said. She blinked a couple of times.

"I think my retinas got burnt," she said, trying to blink the spots away. Tony lightly laughed and continued to guide her to one of the biggest ballrooms he had ever been in. "Wow," she said.

"I know, I was thinking the same thing. One thing is for sure about the Chinese, they definitely have class." They looked up to the ceiling and saw at least ten chandeliers. Their gaze came back down and saw a jazz band playing soft but lively music; a few couples had already taken to the dance floor. Everyone else was either up socializing or quietly sitting at their table, patiently waiting for dinner to arrive, which wouldn't be for another hour or so. "I'm gonna go get us a drink, okay?" She nodded her head and let him go, but he quickly grabbed her hand. "And I will be back this time." She rolled her eyes.

"Just go, I'll be waiting right here," she said, giggling. He let her go and finally walked over to the bar, ordering a scotch for himself and a dry martini with extra olives for Pepper.

'_That's right, isn't it? Dry with extra olives, I'm sure of it,'_ he thought to himself, double checking his memory. As he waited, two men walked up to the bar, laughing about something. They ordered their drinks and went back to talking.

"So she was hot?" the first man asked.

"Oh man, smoking," the second one said.

"Man, I envy you," the first one began again. "You get to bring a different girl home every night; you don't have to keep banging the same girl every night," he said, sounding frustrated. Tony smirked because he remembered, just as if it was yesterday, what it was like bringing them home, then letting them go in the morning. Well, he didn't remember that part; it was always Pepper showing them to the door the morning after.

"Dude, seriously," the second one started.

'_Dude? Who says 'dude' anymore?'_ Tony asked himself.

"Being tied down to one woman is too much hassle. Once they see you're ready to commit to one thing they'll start talking about moving in, next thing you know they'll talk about getting married and then you'll have the baby talk. Trust me, it's not worth it." The first one nodded at his friend and then nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, speaking of smoking hot, check out the red head in the fire engine red dress." Tony's anger began to flare up.

'_First off, it's hot rod red. Second, where are those drinks?' _

"Ooh man," he said as he began sucking air through his teeth. "I would love to see what she could do, if you know what I mean." Tony clenched his jaw and dug his fingers into the bar counter. His face began to burn as he imagined getting in the Iron Man suit and having target practice with the two creeps beside him who were oogling his woman.

"Uh huh, I wonder if I should go talk to her, just to see if she's one of the easy ones." Tony heard them laughing. Just as he was about to turn around to them, the bar tender came up and handed him the drinks.

"Here you go sir, I apologize for the wait," the bartender said to him.

"That's quite alright," Tony said to the man, and walking off with the drinks. Tony quickly walked back over to Pepper, without spilling their drinks. She turned around and smiled at him, and held her hand out to take her drink, but Tony didn't allow her to take it. Instead, he quickly sat them on the small table she was standing next to, and quickly pulled her to him.

"Just one second, honey," he said, and then crushed her lips with his. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dipped her sideways, so the guys at the bar could get an eyeful. Tony glanced upwards to see their reactions, and smirked when he got just what he was looking for. They adjusted uncomfortably, and the looks on their faces was that of embarrassment and jealousy. Tony watched them walk off, and brought Pepper back up.

"Wow," she said, eyes fluttering open and stumbling a little. Tony braced his hands on her arms to steady her. "Where did that come from?" she asked, once she was steady and could see straight.

"Oh, I just," he began as he leaned down to pick up their drinks. "Missed you, that's all." He handed her her drink, and took a long sip from his. Pepper narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"You," she began, not believing a word he just said. "_Missed_ me?" An eyebrow rose.

"Yep. Did I get it right? Dry with extra olives?" Pepper just stood there, dumbfounded, and watched him try to play this off. He looked into her eyes, and took another drink. "You wanna dance?" Pepper placed a hand on her hip.

"There was a guy at the bar checking me out, wasn't there?"

"Two of them, actually." Pepper shook her head.

"Uh huh," she said, knowing there was an explanation for this sudden public display of affection.

"And I didn't appreciate the things they were saying about you, okay? I needed to show them that you were already taken," he explained, taking another drink and looking away from her.

"Tony, green is not your best color." Tony turned his head back to her to see her smirking.

"Touché, Potts." He smiled at her and clinked their glasses together. She grinned and finally took a sip of her martini, while both of them turned towards the band, watching and listening to them play. Suddenly, she began to giggle. "What?" he asked, looking to her. She shook her head.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just thought of something, that's all."

"No, tell me, what were you thinking?" he asked while taking another drink. She turned her head to him.

"You're my knight in shining gold-titanium alloy armor," she said as she began to giggle. Tony rolled his eyes and looked back to the band, silently laughing at the remark.

"Seriously though, would you like to dance?" he asked, looking at her. She turned back to him and looked at him seriously.

"I would love to dance," she said.

"Yeah?" he asked, making sure he heard right.

"Yes, I would."

"Let's go then." He grabbed her hand, and just as they were headed to the dance floor…

"Well, well, well, Seals, we meet again." For the third time that night, Tony's anger rose again; for a moment he tried to calculate his blood pressure, but was too frustrated at the moment to concentrate on another thing.

"You know, Platypus, you have impeccable timing," he said, hand still connected with Pepper's.

"Yeah, I do that on purpose, so I can keep you on your toes," Rhodey said as he grinned at him and then turned his attention to Pepper.

"Hi, Pepper, you look absolutely stunning," he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you, Rhodey. I must say, you don't look bad yourself. I've never seen you in all white before," she said, kissing his cheek.

"Alright, alright, break it up, you two," Tony said, slightly pushing Rhodey away from her.

"Tony, what on earth has gotten into you?" Rhodey asked, surprised that his friend would do that.

"Go easy on him, he's a little touchy right now," Pepper said softly.

"I am not touchy. I just had to tell a couple of douche bags to back off my woman," he explained. "I need another drink." He left them, and walked back over to the bar.

"Pepper, is he okay?" Rhodey asked. She shook her head.

"No, he's not. It started back at the penthouse. He wanted to stay in, and I sort of teased him and conned him into coming. Then when he heard those guys talking I guess that was the icing on the cake. Don't take it personal, Rhodey, he's just a little frustrated right now," she explained. Rhodey nodded his head.

"Well, it's good that you made him come; he needs to be here."

"I know, but he didn't want to be here," she said shaking her head, looking guilty.

"Are you feeling sympathy for him?" Rhodey asked jokingly. Pepper rolled her eyes and couldn't help the smile growing on her face. "Since when did Pepper Potts begin feeling sympathy for anyone, let alone her boss?" he asked her. She looked at him and was about to answer. "Wait, don't tell me." He held up a hand for her to stop right there.

"What? I was just going to say…"

"Nope, I don't want to hear it Pepper. Reason being you'll probably say something like 'the moment he put his tongue down my throat'," he said, trying to quote her in a high squeaky voice. She smacked his arm. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"Serves you right," she said, grinning at him.

"Pepper, I wanted to throw the first punch tonight," Tony said as he walked back over to them. All three of them laughed, but it was short lived as the room began to get full.

"Alright, ladies," Rhodey began. "Once again, I believe it's show time." Tony sighed.

"Yep." Tony took a quick drink, then held out his hand for Pepper. "Let's do this." She smiled and took his hand.

"Yes, let's."


	8. Chapter Seven

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Seven

About an hour and another glass of scotch later, Tony and Pepper had spoken with every single person in the room it seemed; people ranging from business associates to politicians to actual employees of the company. So by the time they had finished making their rounds, he was ready for another drink.

"Whoo," he breathed out. "Pepper, don't ever let me talk that long with Senator Philips again."

"Noted, Mr. Stark," she said, still hanging onto his hand.

"I need a drink," he said, pulling her towards the bar. She looked at him.

"Tony, you're on your third glass. I think that's enough for now, at least until dinner begins," she said. Tony made no move to counter her comment, just continued to walk them to the bar. Once there, he ordered another glass of scotch and asked Pepper if she wanted another martini. She respectively declined and stood there with him, waiting on his fourth drink in one hour. In no time at all, the bartender returned with his drink, and as they turned around, they came face to face with Melina, Mr. Kahn, and the demon of Vanity Fair herself, Christine Everhart.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the newly reappointed face of Stark Industries, Mr. Tony Stark, as well as his reappointed assistant and demoted CEO, Pepper Potts," she said as sweetly as she could. Both Tony and Pepper looked at each other, not believing this.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts," began Mr. Kahn. "I'd like you to meet…"

"We've already met," Pepper said, glaring but smiling as nicely as she could at the woman. Tony didn't dare look her in the eye, for fear she would place a curse on him or something weird. Pepper turned back to him. "Be nice," she mouthed to him. The corner of Tony's mouth quirked up, and finally he turned to her.

"Hello Christine," he said, putting on his best smile. "It's nice to see you again. You look very lovely in that dress, and that perfume you're wearing is very, um… what's the word I'm looking for, Pepper?" he asked.

"Repugnant?" she asked with a straight face. Tony snapped his fingers.

"Just the word I was looking for," he said, turning back to see Christine's face just as red as Pepper's dress. Melina laughed nervously and cleared her throat.

"Christine has decided to do an article on Mr. Kahn and the opening of the branch, isn't that nice?" Melina asked them. Tony and Pepper looked at each other and smiled.

"Oh yes, she's always had an interest in Stark Industries," Pepper said, looking at Melina. Christine breathed through her nose to calm herself, and the red on her face slowly dissipated.

"I'm just doing my job, that's all. It's tough trying to keep the world up to date with Tony Stark," she said, grinning wickedly. Tony shifted uncomfortably; he really didn't like the way she was looking at him, like she wanted to sink her teeth into him, again. Then, it hit him; a grin slowly grew on his face, and he leaned closer to Mr. Kahn, so both he and Christine could hear him.

"Trust me on this, Gene, she's good, but be careful because she's a bitter. It took weeks for her teeth marks to fade off of me." With that, Tony grabbed Pepper's hand and led her away, leaving Christine wide eyed and mouth hanging open.

"I can't believe you just did that," Pepper said, trying her best to contain her giggles, and failing miserably. Tony had a look on his face of sheer triumph, obviously pleased with himself.

"Isn't it funny that whenever something happens that involves my company, she's always there to make an appearance?" Tony paused a moment. "Huh, remind me first thing on Monday to file a restraining order," he said, keeping a straight face. Pepper could no longer contain her sputtering.

"It's noted, trust me," she said, regaining her composure. As the crowd moved about them, they met up with Rhodey again and Melina came over to mingle with them while Ms. Everhart was interviewing Mr. Kahn. Melina's black velvet dress had a slit all the way up to her thigh, and accented every curve of her body; it was definitely meant for seducing the opposite sex. Pepper worried for a brief moment that Tony would start eyeing her, but that thought was quickly discarded when she felt his arm wrap around her waist, and his finger began to lightly trace circles on her hip. Eventually Tony and Rhodey got separated from the girls, seeing as several gentlemen from engineering came over and started to speak with them, they didn't want to bore the girls with 'technical' stuff, so they walked over to the other side of the bar, where a bigger group of engineers were waiting for them.

"You can go with them if you want, I don't mind," Melina said to Pepper.

"Oh no, trust me, it's not my thing," Pepper said, slightly laughing. Melina nodded her head and rolled her eyes.

"I hear you. I swear, every time Mr. Kahn starts on that stuff, I almost want to hang myself." Pepper laughed.

"I know exactly what you mean." Both women stood there a moment to let the laughter pass.

"So I hear you're leaving in the morning," Melina said to Pepper.

"Yeah, it'll be time to get back to work first thing Monday morning," Pepper explained. "God, I don't even want to think about it," she said while shaking her head. Melina laughed.

"Oh, I can imagine, we're gonna be pretty busy ourselves, you know." Pepper nodded.

"Yes, that is true." Melina watched as Pepper gaze slowly went to look at the group of men Tony was speaking with.

"Ginny, seriously, what's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Pepper looked back to her wide eyed.

"Nothing," she said while shaking her head. "Nothing's going on. Why would you think something's going on?" Pepper asked, smiling nervously. Melina smiled and narrowed her eyes toward her.

"Come on, Ginny, you can tell me. I'm not Ryan Seacrest for God's sake," she said. "You haven't been able to take your eyes off of him all night." Pepper sighed and looked back to him.

"Caught red handed," Pepper said, softly smiling. Melina giggled.

"So it _is_ true," she began. "My God, when?"

"Um, a little over three months now," Pepper said rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, trying to think of the actual date. "He finally came to his senses," she said, still looking at Tony.

"Uh huh, just _he_ came to his senses?" Pepper glared at her.

"Okay, fine. We _both_ came to our senses, alright?" Melina smirked.

"You always had a strong spirit, Ginny, especially after… well you know." Pepper sighed.

"Yeah, I know. But he's better than that, and I believe that with all my heart." Melina looked at her seriously.

"Ginny I don't want you to get hurt again. As my friend, I can't bear to see that happen to you again," Melina explained. Pepper looked to her and smiled.

"Thank you, but I don't think he has that ability. He's changed for the better, I honestly believe that he wouldn't do that to me."

"He's _Tony Stark_, Ginny. He has a reputation…"

"I _know_ what kind of reputation he has," Pepper said quickly, interrupting her. "Trust me, I've been his assistant for over ten years, I've seen him at his best and worst. He wants this, he told that himself; and he wants to do right by me." Pepper shrugged her shoulders. "And I believe him." Melina smiled.

"Well, I can honestly say 'congratulations'," she said patting Pepper's arm.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "I really appreciate that from you."

"Just do me one favor. If he ever reverts back to his old ways, call me and we'll kick his ass together." Both girls began laughing.

"I'll keep you in mind," Pepper gasped out, trying to regain her composure.

"Well you two seem to be having a good time," Tony said, walking up beside Pepper and placing his hand on her back. Pepper narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, actually, I am having a good time. How about you two?" she asked, directing her question towards Rhodey and Melina. Rhodey thought about it for a moment.

"Eh, I've been to better," he said. Tony nodded his head.

"Yes, I agree."

"Oh my goodness, you guys should've been here last week," Melina began.

"What was last week?" Pepper asked.

"The Annual Star Wars Convention, now that was a party." Both Tony and Pepper gasped.

"Really?" they both asked. They turned and looked at each other, not believing that had just happened. Melina and Rhodey blinked at them, both stunned for a moment.

"Um," Melina began, shaking her head. "Yes, it was a lot of fun. If only the branch opening had been a week earlier, then we all could've gone together." Pepper nodded then turned to Tony.

"Tony, do me a favor. Next time, remind me to bring my Princess Leia 'Slave' costume, okay?" she asked, grinning at him. At that moment, both Tony and Rhodey had to pause to process the words that just came out of her mouth.

"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I have to go powder my nose," Melina said, starting to walk off.

"Oh, I'll come with you," Pepper said, walking with her, leaving both Tony and Rhodey standing there with blank expressions of their faces. Rhodey eventually leaned over to Tony.

"Man, I don't think she was kidding," he said cautiously. Tony shook his head.

"I don't think she was, either."

* * *

A couple of minutes later, Pepper and Melina emerged from the ladies room. They separated to find their respective employers. Tony and Rhodey were still standing in the spot where she and Melina left them. She placed a hand on his arm, and he turned to look at her. Rhodey watched as both of them made googly eyes at one another, and honestly he was getting sick. They turned to see the expression on his face.

"What?" Pepper asked. Rhodey shook his head.

"Nothing," he said quickly, and looked down to the floor while sipping his drink. Tony smirked and leaned over to Pepper's ear.

"You know what would really get him worked up? If we stood here and kissed in front of him again," he said.

"Oh, dear lord, please don't," he said, holding a hand up to them and placing a hand on his stomach. Tony began laughing and Pepper rolled her eyes, finding it amusing herself. "It's bad enough I gotta watch you two look like you want to devour each other, but to watch you swap saliva? No thank you, I'll pass." Tony was about to come back with a smart ass remark, but Melina grabbed Pepper's arm and turned her towards her.

"Ginny, you're not gonna guess who I just saw on the opposite side of the room," she said, eyes wide and trying to contain herself.

"Um, you're right. I'm not going to guess, so you might as well tell me," Pepper said, finding the position a little awkward. Melina leaned closer to her.

"Damon Bradley." Pepper's eyes widened and she turned to search the room. "He's standing by the jade statue of Buddha." Pepper found the jade statue and the only man she saw was a gray headed man that looked like he must have been at least ten years older than Damon. But then she recognized the face, and recognized the awful posture he had. Pepper gasped and turned back to Melina, biting her lips to keep from laughing.

"That's Damon, alright," she said, finally letting her giggles slip out. Tony's eyebrows narrowed in confusion and turned to look at the guy.

"Who's Damon Bradley?" he asked Pepper. Pepper bent over slightly, and covered her mouth with her hand. She cleared her throat and looked at Tony.

"Call it superstitious nonsense but I knew the moment we started talking about the guy, he would show up some time or another," Melina said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Who is that guy?" Tony asked again.

"He's Ginny's ex-fiancé," Melina said bluntly. Pepper turned and glared at her.

"Did you have to say it like that?" she asked.

"Really?" Tony asked, no expression on his face as he turned to get a better look at the guy. He looked back to Pepper, then back to Damon, then Pepper, and back to Damon again. "You know, you don't seem like the type of girl who would find the 'old man' look attractive." Tony looked back to her, trying to keep a straight face. Pepper sighed.

"For your information, he's my age. And when we were together he didn't look like that, at all. He used to have brown hair," she explained, looking back over to him. They all stood there and looked at the guy. "He looks like he's uncomfortable."

"Huh, serves him right," Melina said, showing no sympathy for the guy. Tony turned to Melina.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He cheated on Ginny with one of our fellow models." Tony gasped.

"That bitch," he said.

"Exactly my words," Melina said nodding her head.

"Guys, come on," Pepper began, turning away from Damon. "It was a long time ago, it's all in the past, let's go find our table so they can start serving dinner." Suddenly, Tony grabbed Pepper's hand.

"Let's go say hi," Tony said smirking, pulling her across the room.

"Tony, no," she said, trying to dig her heels into the floor to stop him from pulling her towards him. "Tony, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on, Pepper, I just want to say hi. It's not like I'm gonna brag or anything like that."

"Yes you are, that's why you're pulling me with you!" she loudly grumbled. Eventually, Pepper gave in, and hooked her arm through his, and put on her best smile. Coming face to face with her ex was not on the agenda for this evening, so she would just have to suck it up this once. Besides, she would have been lying if she said she didn't want to gloat; just a little anyway. They walked up right behind him and Tony cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir," Tony began, trying to get his attention. Damon turned around, and his eyes widened. "I don't believe we've met," Tony said, trying to keep from smiling too much.

"Oh my god," Damon gasped out.

"Hello Damon," Pepper said, smiling nicely at him. Damon cleared his throat, obviously caught off guard.

"Hello Virginia," he said nervously. Pepper fumed at the use of her formal name. Tony turned to look at her.

"_Pepper_," he began, making sure to emphasize the name. "You know this gentleman?" he asked, trying to play it up. Pepper just stared at Damon.

"Yes, Tony. Mr. Bradley and I dated in college," she said, never taking her eyes off of him. A lump formed in Damon's throat, and he tried desperately to swallow it, but it wasn't giving in any time soon. Tony's eyebrows popped up and turned to look at him. Pepper had to admit, he was an excellent actor, even if the situation was awkward.

"Oh, really?" Tony then held out his hand for the gentleman to take it. "Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries." He smiled at the man and waited for his hand to be shaken. Damon reluctantly took Tony's hand.

"Damon Bradley." Tony's arm went numb the moment Damon took his hand. Something about this guy didn't set well with him.

"So, Damon, may I call you Damon?" Tony asked, taking his hand away from the man and wiping it on the back of his pants. "What do you do for a living?" Damon swallowed, obviously uncomfortable.

"I'm a lawyer," he said, nodding his head. Tony was unimpressed.

"Good profession." He lied. "Though, Damon, I must be honest. I am trying to figure out why you're here at my party. Could you possibly elaborate for me?" He tried his best to ask the question nicely, but considering he was Pepper's ex, he wanted an answer.

"The firm I work for is representing Justin Hammer," he explained. "My boss could not make it so he sent me." Tony blinked a couple of times then smirked.

"That still does not explain why you are here?"

"He got an invite." Sweat was beginning to drip down his forehead.

"I see now."

"Where's Katrina?" Pepper asked all of a sudden. Damon's gaze went back to Pepper and he swallowed hard.

"Katrina left me," he said. Pepper nodded, feeling a little sympathy for the man.

"I am truly sorry to hear that Damon. You two once seemed that you were happy together." She fought to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged. "These things happen."

"Honey, I forgot to ask if you wanted something," they heard a high pitched voice say behind Damon. He froze where he stood as the woman came into view. The woman was short and stocky, really stocky, and her torso was just as round as a pot belly pig. She was carrying a plate piled high with food from the appetizer bar, but once her eyes met with Pepper's she gasped.

"Virginia, oh my god! You look fantastic! How long has it been?" she said, her voice growing in pitch with each word. Pepper looked from the woman, and back to Damon, who was avoiding her eyes at all cost. Pepper looked back to the round woman and smiled.

"Katrina, so nice to see you again. I think it's been about eleven years." Pepper kept a smile on her face for Katrina's sake.

That was all the ammunition Tony needed to start making this guy even more uncomfortable than he already was. _'That lying bastard! Well, he is a lawyer after all; perfect job for him, he actually had us going,'_ Tony thought to himself. Tony shifted his arm so he could grab Pepper's hand and entwined their fingers. Damon chanced a glance at Tony, and what he saw he didn't like at all. Tony brought their entwined hands to his mouth, and starting kissing the back of her hand. Then, he flipped their hands, and placed soft kisses to each one of her fingers. Damon's face turned bright red, and his jaw clenched. Tony just smirked, satisfied with himself as he and Damon got into staring contest. _'Do something, please do something, I dare you,'_ he thought to himself. He wanted a reason to throw the asshole from his party.

"I see what you meant, Damon. She left you for the buffet," Tony began, then looked to Katrina. "It's understandable. At various times during the day I need to eat something, otherwise I'm crabby and nobody wants to be around me, let alone my motor skills have been shot." Katrina nodded her head.

"Oh, that is so true, same thing happens with me," she said.

"Oh, honey, I believe it," Tony said, forcing himself to look at her face, and not the cleavage on her elbow. At that moment, Rhodey and Melina walked up to them.

"Well, if this isn't a pleasant surprise," Melina said, smiling at the couple. Katrina gasped again, at the same time, taking a bite of some sort of egg roll looking thing from her plate.

"Melina?" she said with her mouth full. "Wow, you look great as well!" Melina smiled.

"Thank you, and you," Melina began, trying to come up with the words to describe the woman in front of her. "You… you look…healthy." Melina grinned at the woman.

"Oh, thank you, but all the credit shouldn't go to me," she began, placing a hand on Damon's forearm. "Can you believe that we're expecting number five?" she said excitedly. Tony and Rhodey looked at each other.

"Oh, how nice. So I take it you're due soon?" Melina asked.

"Uh, no," she began. "I'm not due for another eight months." It took all of the strength that both Tony and Rhodey had to not burst out laughing. Pepper stood there blinking at the woman, and Melina was shocked out of her mind.

"Oh, well congratulations," she said, grinning as wide as she could.

"Thank you. Damon was so happy when I told him, weren't you honey?" She turned to Damon who nodded as he took a long sip from the drink he had in his hand.

"Man, all that baby making must be hard work," Rhodey said, finally piping into the conversation.

"It is, especially when you're a stay at home mom, and you're taking care of four little ones, but we make it work." Katrina looked at Damon with eyes full of adoration.

"Well, Damon," Pepper began. "You got exactly what you wanted. And I can honestly say you deserve it, all of it." Damon looked at her, and she softly smiled at him. He was officially embarrassed. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked away from her eyes.

"Thank you, Virginia, I really appreciate that from you," he said in a wobbly voice.

"Well, wasn't this a nice reunion?" Tony asked everyone. "Katrina, Damon, it was very nice to meet the both of you," he began, then leaned over to Katrina. "Next time when I throw a party, you can come, just remember to leave the manipulative fraud for a lawyer at home." He smiled at her, then turned to Pepper, not waiting for their reactions. "Come on, babe, I wanna dance." With that, he pulled Pepper towards the dance floor, not even looking back to see both Rhodey and Melina's mouths hanging open. Once there, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and held onto her hand with the other arm. Slowly, her other hand came to rest on his shoulder, and for the first time that night, Tony was actually relaxed. They slowly swayed with the music for a few moments, that is until Tony realized she was hiding her face in his neck, and she was visibly shaking.

"Pepper, honey, are you okay?" he asked, obviously alarmed that he might have done something wrong. She leaned up and he saw that she was laughing. Her smile was bright, and her laugh was starting to relax.

"Thank you," she said. Tony looked at her.

"For what?" She gazed into his eyes.

"For being you," she said. Tony nodded.

"So, for the first time since you've known me, you're glad I chose that particular moment to be myself?" She giggled and he began laughing with her.

"I know that's wrong and mean, but I just…" she shook her head.

"You enjoyed it."

"I did."

"You enjoyed watching him squirm," he said, his grin turning mischievous. All she could do was nod because her giggling fit returned. "You know what? I just discovered my daily mission. I am to make you smile, once a day, being my usual self." She couldn't help but laugh harder at that.

"You are unbelievable, you know that?"

"I know, I gotta do something to make you want to stay with me." With those words she stopped laughing, and just looked at him. Their bodies continued to sway with the music, and Tony leaned in, and pressed his cheek against hers. Their eyes closed, and they stayed that way until dinner was served.

* * *

Dinner was wonderful, as well as the rest of the evening. Tony, Pepper and Rhodey had shared a table with Melina and Mr. Kahn, thus igniting the beginnings of various interesting conversations. Sadly, Pepper did notice that the more Tony drank, the less he ate. From one plate, she could only recall him taking no more than six bites; this was worrying her, and it wasn't going to go unnoticed. More drinks were followed by more dancing, and she was impressed that he could stand up and keep rhythm while being as intoxicated as he was. Several times during the evening he told her she danced beautifully, and she would smile each time he said it. Finally, sometime around 1 AM, they stumbled into the penthouse. Tony was obviously struggling to keep his eyes open, and his tie was undone and left hanging around his neck. Pepper grunted as she pulled the shoes from her aching feet, and it didn't ease her mind at all that they would be on their way home in less than seven hours.

"Alright, Tony, time for bed," she said, moving to guide him to the bed room. But instead of grabbing his arm, his mouth crashed against hers in a very sloppy kiss, and his arms wrapped around her waist. "Mm, Tony," she began against his mouth. "Sweetie, you're drunk."

"I'm tipsy at the most," he said, shoving her against a wall, and throwing his jacket to the floor, as well as his bow tie. His arms wrapped back around her, and one of his hands went so far as to travel down and grab her butt.

"Okay, that's enough." She tried to push him back but he wasn't letting up so easily. "Tony, seriously, we have to get up early, okay? We need to get to bed."

"That's a perfect idea," he said as he pulled the bottom of her dress up, and pulled her up to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Oh god," she gasped, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The next thing she knew, she was being dumped on the bed, and he stood above her, taking his dress shirt off, then his undershirt. Once he was naked from the waist up, he leaned back over her, and began kissing her again. He moved an arm under her to pull her closer, and his other arm moved to grab one of her legs to hook it across his hip. Pepper moaned slightly when she felt him press groin into her. "Tony, please." She pushed up on him so he would look at her.

"What?" he asked. She sighed.

"Honey, you're drunk, big time."

"No, I'm not," he whined.

"Yes, you are. You're about to pass out, I can see it in your eyes."

"No," he grunted, moving down to kiss her neck. "I have to make love to you before I pass out." Pepper's heart skipped a beat.

"No, you don't," she said, trying to reason with him.

"Yes, I do." He kissed her lips. "All night you've looked so sexy and the only thing I could think about was bringing you back here and making love to you all night long." Pepper placed her hands on his back.

"Maybe we should take a rain check on that."

"No," he grunted, and placed both hands on her face. "No, I don't want to take a rain check on it. I love you," he said, looking her in the eyes. Pepper's heart wanted to leap out of her chest the moment she heard those words.

"Tony, please, sweetie," she said, trying to keep her composure. Tony leaned back down again, and kissed her like his life depended on it.

"I love you," he said between kisses. "Please, please, make love to me." He rolled them over to where she was on top. She held onto him, and continued to kiss him, until she felt his mouth no longer moving. She leaned up, and saw that he had, in fact, passed out underneath her. She sighed, and brushed the hair off his forehead; she knew for a fact he wasn't going to be feeling well in the morning. She moved off to the side, and just stared at him for a moment.

'_Don't get your hopes up. He was drunk when he said it,'_ she thought to herself. A few tears fell down her cheeks, and she laid down against his side, wrapping an arm around his stomach. _'Even if he did, he wouldn't ever say it,'_ she thought again. She looked up to his face, and leaned up to his ear. At least one of them was sober when they decided to admit their feelings.

* * *

**NOTE:** Hey guys! Just a reminder to Read and Review. Also, I have another poll going on on my profile and I would really appreicate your feedback. Question: Should Tony and Pepper get a love scene in Rise of the Mandarin? Yes or No? Be sure to visit when you can.


	9. Chapter Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **O...M...FREAKIN'...G! This has got to be the hardest chapter I've written yet. I once again had to ask my mom for help because my brain just wasn't working. I love you mom! I have the coolest mom ever, okay? Just throwing that one out there *grin* Anyway, so sorry about the wait, this one took forever and a day! And the fact that my muse decided to take a ten day vacation didn't help either! *big grin* Love you honey! Alright, so here it is, and the story will now begin to pick up and get better from here on out, I promise! And I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with me and leaving comments, you guys are the best. Remember to R & R!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Eight

Tony pushed his sunglasses back up to the bridge of his nose. Even with all the shades of the jet windows pulled down, he was still very sensitive to light. Not to mention it felt like a hammer had been taken to his temple, of course without drawing blood. He grabbed the glass from the table in front of him and brought it to his mouth, desperately needing something to drink. When the contents hit his lips, he fought the urge to vomit. He was thirsty, but water was the last thing he wanted right now. He sat the glass back down and just stared at the space in front of him. A certain red head was not in her usual seat across from him. She was probably in the other room talking on the phone, rearranging his schedule. He did make them awfully late this morning, and it was just as well that she was away from him; the slightest noise made his ears ring, plus he thought he saw steam shoot out her ears when they finally boarded the plane. As if right on cue, he heard air pressure release, and the door opened. He watched Pepper, still with the phone to her ear, sit down in front of him.

"Yes, I understand," she said into the phone with her normal tone. Tony winced at the sound. He drowned out the rest of the conversation, considering it was making his headache worse. Finally, she pressed the 'end call' button, and placed the phone on the table and focused on the papers in her hand.

"Have you taken anything for your headache?" she asked, not looking at him. Tony gulped nervously.

"Um… no," he said softly.

"Tony!" she exclaimed while reaching for something beside her chair. Both of Tony's hands went to his ears.

"Pepper, honey, please… not so loud," he whispered to her, trying not to add to the pain in his head. Pepper huffed underneath her breath and pulled out a bottle of aspirin from her purse. She popped the lid off and shook two tablets in her hand.

"Take these two," she commanded, but this time with a lower tone. Tony grunted and softly pushed her hand away.

"I don't think so," he said, making a choking sound.

"Yes, you will," she commanded again, this time raising her voice. Tony quickly grabbed the pills from her hand and popped them into his mouth, anything to keep her from raising her voice again. He quickly swallowed them, hoping that would satisfy her, but then he saw her raise the glass to him. "You need to push the fluids as well." He grunted and took the glass from her. She watched as he took a small sip of the water, then sat the glass back down.

"Pepper, if you don't mind, my stomach is a little sensitive right now," he explained.

"Oh yes, I'm sure it is," she said, no sympathy in her voice. Tony looked away from her and she turned back to the papers in her lap. After a few moments, Tony looked back at her.

"I have this funny feeling you're mad at me," he said, trying to sound unsure. Pepper's gaze stayed on the papers.

"I'm not mad, Tony," she said, then looked at him. "I'm _furious_," she said, accenting that word just a little louder for him to get the message. "You made us four hours late for our flight home. Do you have any idea what that has done to your schedule? Now the R and D committee can't meet again until Thursday because that's the only day that everyone will be available."

"Okay, okay, I get the point," he said, trying to calm her down so she wouldn't speak loudly anymore. "So, I screwed up the schedule for one teeny-weeny little meeting, Pepper. Come on, I've done much worse in the past."

"Tony, this isn't about the schedule, this is about you not taking care of yourself," she said, her temper beginning to flare.

"Oh lord, here we go," he grunted while rolling his eyes.

"Tony, I'm being serious here! You're not taking care of yourself. First off, you're not eating…"

"What? I am too eating," he said, interrupting her. "I ate last night at dinner." Pepper snorted.

"Tony, you took six bites; I counted them." Her face was blank; no emotion showed as she watched him process her words. He looked away, not wanting to look at her like that; she was definitely scary when she got worked up like that. "Not to mention, I found these." Pepper dug into her purse and pulled out a bottle with red pills inside of it and slamming it on the table for him to see it. Tony looked over the rim of his sun glasses at the bottle and then back at her.

"You went through my things?" he asked, his turn now to be furious.

"I didn't have to; they were sitting right on top of your bag for me to see." An uncomfortable silence engulfed them. "What doctor prescribed these to you?"

"What makes you think a doctor gave them to me?" he asked, obviously getting smart with her.

"Because I know for a fact that a doctor has to prescribe Eszopiclone, Tony." The volume of her voice was the loudest he had ever heard it, and his head was paying the price. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be taking these? I want to know which doctor prescribed these to you."

"It's none of your business," he stated as a matter of factly.

"Yes it is, Tony, both as your assistant _and_ your girlfriend." Her volume had lowered a bit. "Tell me who the doctor is. They don't need to be prescribing sleeping pills to you, especially with your history of alcohol abuse." Tony sighed.

"Pepper, I _do not_ abuse alcohol."

"Tony!" Pepper threw her arms up for him to stop. "If you want me to move in with you, you need to get control over this." Tony clamped his mouth shut. That was the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. "I don't like this," she said with a sigh. "And you know it worries me, I told you so. Yesterday, all you did was drink, from the moment you woke up to the moment we got back to the penthouse. This is almost your birthday party all over again." Pepper's eyes got a little glassy and Tony had to look away. "Can you remember anything that happened last night?" she asked.

"Of course I remember… some things," he said hesitantly. Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"You don't sound so sure about that." Tony grunted and looked at her.

"Fine. The last thing I remember is we were dancing on the dance floor."

"Which time? We danced several times on the dance floor." Pepper watched as he tried to replay the events in his head.

"Um…" Tony leaned his head down and rubbed his temple. All these questions were making his head hurt. "I remember we danced after dinner." Pepper sighed, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces at the same time.

"You don't remember us getting back to the penthouse?" she asked, secretly holding on to that last bit of hope that he might remember something. Tony slowly shook his head.

"Nope. I remember leading you to the dance floor after dinner, and that's it," he explained.

'_He doesn't remember,'_ she thought. _'You knew he wouldn't. Why are you so sad about that, huh?'_

"Tony," she calmly began, while reaching over to take his hand. "I'm serious, okay? I want you to get healthy. I'm worried about you." He nodded in understanding.

"So my drinking is the reason why you're not moving in with me?" he half asked, half stated. Pepper nodded.

"That and the fact I've got four more months left on my lease and I would really prefer not to lose my security deposit," she said smiling at him. Tony smirked.

"Okay, I get it." His smile faded.

"I'll give you until then to," she paused a moment to think of the right words. "To get things together, is that alright?" He thought about it a moment, then nodded his head.

"I will have it together by then, I promise. I know I'll have it together by then, and if I don't I'll triple your current salary." She smiled.

"Okay, it's a deal then." She let go of his hand, and turned back to the papers. Tony tapped his fingers against the table for a few moments then leaned forward, getting closer to her.

"What if I can get it together sooner than that? Will you move in with me then?" he asked. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Tony, I need you to sign these," she said, handing the papers to him.

* * *

The Mandarin sat on his throne, eyes closed, meditating in the silence that surrounded him. He always enjoyed silence; it gave him comfort and allowed him to contemplate things that were on his mind. Things like honor, revenge, arc reactors, weaponized suits, Iron Man, Tony Stark… Tony Stark had been on his mind for a while.

'_The poor bastard won't know what hit him,'_ he thought, grinning to himself. He was brought out of his reverie when he heard the door open.

"This had better be good," he said through gritted teeth. He heard the boots of the person quickly walk towards him, then suddenly stop.

"Master," he heard the female voice say. The corners of his lips quirked up as his eyelids slowly opened to see his favorite servant bowing before him.

"Good news, Maiden?" he asked. Her head rose up to look at him.

"Yes sir," she began. "They're ready for the demonstration." The Mandarin breathed in and out to control himself. He wasn't prone to show joy or excitement of the good kind, and he wasn't about to start now; but the fact that they've finally gotten something done was almost enough for him to feel giddiness bubbling up inside of him. But instead he remained calm, and rose off of his throne, and walked down the stairs to stand in front of Iron Maiden. His hands came together and pointed down to the floor as he approached her, showing that he was still in his tranquil mood. He breathed in, not at all flinching at the stale air, then slowly breathed out.

"Finally, progress," he stated. Iron Maiden, still bowed in front of him, nodded her head.

"Yes, Sire, finally." He smiled down to her.

"Rise and take me to them." Quickly she rose and turned to guide him into the shadows. He followed close behind her and watched as the darkness swallowed her up. He continued to walk; he wasn't afraid of something as petty as the dark. He was the Mandarin; the dark should be afraid of him. He heard the sound of a door knob turning. Iron Maiden's form came into view once again as a set of double doors opened in front of her. She led him into a well lit room where much activity was going on, that is until he walked through the doors. Every engineer and welder stopped right in their tracks and watched him walk by. Iron Maiden's boots clicked along the marble floor as she led him down the aisle to the end of the room, where two men waited for him.

These two men the Mandarin knew personally. Lee Fong and Quon Soon were two members of the ten rings; they were also two of the brightest minds in his organization, which is one of the reasons why he gave them the heart of his project, literally. Right now, instead of wearing their hooded cloaks to hide their faces and forms, the two men resorted to regular white labs coats; they were definitely easier to work in than twenty pound cloaks.

"Master is here," Iron Maiden said. The two men turned and quickly stood up straight when they saw their master walking up to them.

"I hear you two have made progress," he said calmly. The two men looked at each other. Lee was short, skinny, and wore glasses. He still had a bruise across his forehead from the last time their master lost his temper. Quon was tall and nicely built, and had no markings or bruises on his body. Lee turned to pick a metal box up off the table.

"Yes sir, we have," Quon said. Lee brought the box over to the Mandarin and opened the lid. He sighed once his eyes feel upon the illuminating circle pressed in a pad of foam for protection. He placed his hands on either side and slowly picked it up as if he were handling precious glass. "With the Russian's blue prints and the reports from SHIELD that Iron Maiden was able to retrieve for us…" The Mandarin glared at him. He adjusted the collar of his shirt, obviously uncomfortable by the way his master was glaring at him. "For _you_, Master," he continued. "Um, we were able to sufficiently produce a Palladium arc reactor that would accommodate you, Sire."

"Excellent," he said, still gazing at the arc reactor in his hand. Iron Maiden came over and stood right beside him, gazing at the radiance of the piece.

"Master, it's magnificent," she said, completely in awe.

"Yes, I know," he said, still unable to take his eyes off the piece. "And my suit?" His eyes finally came off the arc reactor and looked to Lee.

"It is almost complete, Sire. Some technical things still need to be sorted out, but your suit will have all of the same capabilities of Iron Man," Lee explained.

"Unacceptable," Mandarin said flatly. Lee blinked a moment.

"Sir? I'm sorry, I'm confused."

"I want my suit to be better than Stark's, and I want more than just one. According to the SHIELD reports, Stark has more than one." He was getting agitated, clearly. Quon nodded his head.

"Yes, sir, that will be the next on the agenda. However, Maiden did tell you we had the demonstration ready for you, didn't she?" Quon asked, looking to her, and then back to his master. Iron Maiden gave Quon a death glare for that second he looked at her.

'_How dare he insult me in such a way! He has no idea who he is dealing with,'_ she thought to herself, while beginning to plan catching him alone in a hallway and making him pay for the comment.

"Yes she did. Show me what you have done." Quon cleared his throat.

"But first, Master, we do need the arc reactor for the demonstration." The Mandarin pulled it closer to his body, acting as if he wasn't giving it up. "And then you can have it back, Sire," Quon quickly said. Mandarin sighed and gently placed it back in the box.

"This had better be a quick demonstration," he growled at them. Both men cleared their throats and led them behind a huge partition. The Mandarin walked close behind the men, eager to see what they had prepared for him, but stopped in his tracks the moment he saw what was waiting for him. "What is this? You're supposed to be working, not playing with doll houses."

"We felt it was best to make the model as accurate as possible," Lee explained while walking to the far end of the model. It was a model of Hong Kong, and it was huge; about 20 feet by 20 feet, and about one foot deep. The miniature buildings were laying on four slabs of fault rock connected together side by side.

"Master, the fault rock represents the lithosphere, and the arc reactor will represent Stark Industries," Quon began explaining as he pulled the arc reactor from the box. But the Mandarin wasn't interested in what he was saying, he was more interested in what Lee was doing. He walked over to Lee, completely passing by Quon, and grabbed his hand, quickly removing three rods that were no longer than three inches in length, and twice the circumference of a sewing needle.

"What the hell is this?" he asked looking at Lee.

"Tungsten," Lee said flatly.

"Titanium is to be used," the Mandarin said, his anger beginning to boil over.

"Tungsten will work much better." Lee made no move to try to calm his master down.

"The design called for Titanium," Mandarin said through gritted teeth.

"Well, you're not the physicist, are you?" Lee asked, getting smart with him. The moment that comment left his lips, the Mandarin grabbed his neck, and pinned him against the wall, still holding his neck and choking him. Quon ran to them and grabbed his master's arm, trying to pull him away, however he wasn't budging.

"You think I'm stupid, is that what you're saying?" Mandarin asked.

"Yes, Master, that is exactly what he was saying," Iron Maiden said, egging him on.

"No, Master!" Quon quickly said, still trying to pry his master's arm away from Lee. "What my comrade failed to tell you is that Titanium fails to withstand the heat of the vibrations, however Tungsten is able to handle temperatures well past 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit." Once said, the Mandarin quickly let go of Lee, and the man fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Now, was that really all that hard to say?" he asked as if he hadn't been angry. He handed the small rods to Quon. "Carry on while he catches his breath," he commanded, turning back to the model. Quon straightened himself and walked over to Iron Maiden, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

"Must you always instigate him? Sometimes you make things worse." She slowly turned her head to look at him.

"Quon, someday you're going to lose your tongue if you keep making comments like that. So if you want to keep it, I suggest you bite it when a thought comes to mind," she said as sweetly as she could. Quon clenched his jaw shut, and returned to his earlier position beside the model.

Lee had finally risen off the floor, rubbing his neck where the Mandarin's hand had been. Quon placed the rods in a triangular frame. With three pieces of wire, he then connected those to the arc reactor. While Quon placed the rods into three small holes in the fault rock, Lee wheeled a cart over that held a rectangular machine with several buttons and lights. There were ten scale lights on the machine, and at the top of each one was a green light. Lee popped the front off, and revealed ten copper rods attached to a platform on the top and the bottom. At the top of each rod was a ring, one that looked just identical to the one Chen Yong had stolen. All the rods had rings on them, save for the last one. Lee cleared his throat and turned back to his master.

"Sire, the machine is almost complete, I just need the tenth ring," he said. The Mandarin narrowed his eyes at the man and sighed as if he was frustrated with him. Slowly, he took the chain from around his neck, and removed the ring from it. Lee held out his hand and the Mandarin placed it in the center of his palm.

"Are we going to get to see this demonstration today?" asked the Mandarin, irritated by the fact they had kept him waiting this long.

"We are just about ready, master," Quon quickly said. After placing the ring back on the rod and popping it back into place, Lee quickly replaced the face plate and connected a thick wire from the back of the machine to the arc reactor. "Now we are ready," Quon said.

"Finally," Iron Maiden said while rolling her eyes. Quon glared in her direction, then turned his attention to the machine, quickly pressing buttons to turn it on. It came alive with a high pitched roar. It idled for a moment, warming up, and then, the first light on the first scale lit up. Then the second light lit up, followed by the third and fourth lights. It continued on, until it reached the tenth light, which was the green light at the top. At that moment, the arc reactor grew brighter and the entire structure of the model shook. All four of them stepped back in surprise when it happened. The arc reactor then returned to its regular level of brightness, and the second level light began to light up. Tears of joy began to form in the Mandarin's eyes.

"It works," he softly said. Quon turned to look at his master.

"Of course it works, Sire." The Mandarin acted as if he hadn't heard the man and just kept watching. The green light on the second scale lit up and once again the arc reactor grew brighter, and the entire model shook again, this time several of the little buildings collapsed on the structure. Iron Maiden squealed in delight and came over to whisper in her master's ear.

"One step closer, master," she said, almost sounding seductive. He turned to look at her. Had his face not been covered she would've seen him smile.

"Yes, I am," he said happily, then turned back to gaze at the shattering structure. One by one the scales lit up, and each time the structure shook more violently. The Mandarin grew happier and happier seeing the structure fall apart.

'_It will be so much better when I get to actually use it,'_ he thought. Finally, the tenth scale began to light up. This was the moment of truth; this would determine whether or not the machine would do what it was designed for. The anticipation was growing as each light on the scale came on. Finally, the green light lit up, but instead of a destroyed structure, sparks began to shoot out of the machine. Both the Mandarin and Iron Maiden stumbled backwards to avoid getting hit. Quon ran up to the structure. He couldn't reach any of the buttons without risking his skin, so he yanked the thick wire out of the back, and the sparks ceased immediately. He waved his arm around it in order to clear away the smoke that had also come from the machine. The Mandarin walked back over to it, and began to breathe rapidly.

"What the hell was that?" he yelled at him. Quon cough on the smoke, and slowly popped the front face plate off of the machine. He looked inside and immediately saw what the problem was. He took a cloth, and gripped the tenth copper rod, and pulled it out.

"Master, the tenth ring shorted," he said, holding the rod up to the Mandarin for him to see. He grabbed the rod and pried the ring from it. It was difficult, but he got it off. It was discolored now; from its true color of copper in the center and silver on the top and bottom, it was now black, and the markings on the inside were now gone. The Mandarin squeezed the ring in his hand, his anger once again rising. "I don't understand it," Quon began while running a hand through his hair. "All the other rings held up nicely."

"Chen!" the Mandarin yelled, then bolted from the room. He hurried down the aisle and over to another set of doors at the end of the room. He threw them open and walked straight for the man that was chained to the wall.

"Tell me where the real ring is, Chen!" the Mandarin demanded as he picked the man up and slammed him against the wall. Chen laughed at him.

"I gave it to you," he said, a wide grin on his face. The Mandarin hit him upside the head and continued for a few moments. Ming screamed in terror as she watched him beat her husband. The Mandarin slammed him against the wall and leaned his masked face into Chen's breathing space.

"I will not ask you again," he growled. Chen laughed.

"I threw it in the river," he said, smirk on his face.

"You what?" the Mandarin screamed while gripping his shirt tighter.

"He's lying, master," Iron Maiden said as she walked in the room. The Mandarin turned to look at her.

"Why would I lie about something like that? I threw it in the river," he repeated. Iron Maiden shook her head.

"If you didn't want the master to get it back, you would've done something more creative than just 'throw it in the river'. Besides, Sire, when I found him, he was nowhere near a river." The Mandarin turned his gaze back to Chen.

"Where. Is. The. Ring?" The Mandarin paused after each word to emphasize how serious he was.

"You'll have to kill me before I tell you," Chen said.

"How about your wife?" Iron Maiden asked, pulling a gun out of her suit and pointing it at Ming's head. Tears began to fall down the woman's face. She was so scared she couldn't move let alone say anything.

"No!" Chen screamed, beginning to struggle in the Mandarin's grip.

"Not so bold now that the tables have turned, are you?" he asked Chen. Chen still kept his gaze on his wife while he struggled to get away, even though he was still chained to the wall. Iron Maiden made no move to remove the gun from its position right above Ming's head. She watched as he pitifully tried to get away, but then fell due to exhaustion.

"Fine, I'll tell you, just don't hurt my wife," he said, out of breath.

"Tell me where the ring is, and she will live," the Mandarin said calmly. Chen looked back up to him and sighed.

"I gave it to an American," he said.

"What is their name?" Chen shook his head.

"I don't know. It was a woman, that's all I know. She was standing in front of the new branch of Stark Industries while Mr. Stark was posing for pictures."

"Can you remember what she looked like?" The Mandarin was beginning to get annoyed. Chen shook his head.

"I didn't see her face. But I believe her hair was copper colored." The Mandarin turned his head to look at Iron Maiden who slowly lowered her gun from Ming's head.

"I'll check the cameras and make sure he's telling the truth," she said, uneasily.

"That would be best so we don't make another mistake," he said, nodding to her. He turned back to Chen. "If you are lying to me, your wife will pay the price." He let go of him and Chen fell to the ground. "It would be a shame if your children went to bed tomorrow night, and then woke up orphans the next morning." He walked out of the room, with Iron Maiden following close behind.

* * *

Pepper closed her trunk and walked between her car and Tony's car. Tony had, gentlemanly, opened her car door and stood there, waiting for her to get in. She leaned into his face, and pecked his mouth.

"Come spend the night, please?" he asked, putting on his best sad puppy face. She sighed and patted his cheek.

"Remember what we talked about?" she asked. Tony grunted.

"That was about moving in; right now, I'm talking about spending the night," he clarified. She softly smiled at him.

"Maybe tomorrow night. I have no clean clothes for tomorrow, so I do have a legitimate reason for going back to my apartment, Tony," she explained. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but tomorrow you will?"

"We'll see; depends on how much you bug me about it tomorrow," she said flatly. Tony made a gesture of zipping an imaginary zipper across his lips.

"Huh. If I had known that threats like that would've shut you up, I would've done it years ago."

"Oh ha ha ha, very funny, Pepper," he said, trying to act insulted at the comment. She grinned and kissed him one more time.

"Yeah, I thought so too." She finally kneeled and got into her car, and Tony shut the door for her. She started the car and rolled down the window. He leaned on the door as she looked at him. "I'll see you in the morning." He grinned.

"It already is the morning."

"Then I'll see you later," she clarified. He leaned in and stole a couple more kisses before backing away and letting her back up the car. Once she backed up far enough, she turned back to him. "Go home and get some sleep," she commanded. Tony shook his head.

"I can't sleep when you're not there."

"Tony, I'm serious."

"So am I." She rolled her eyes.

"Bye, Tony." She threw the car into drive.

"Bye, Honey," he said amorously. She snorted and drove off. He watched as she made the turn at the end of the road, and finally was out of his sight. He sighed and walked back to his car. He ran his fingers through his hair as he pulled out his car keys, knowing it was going to be a long morning.


	10. Chapter Nine

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey everybody, here is the next chapter. Last chapter I forgot to give a special 'High-Five' to skye3 for guessing that Damon Bradley was from Only You, another heart-warming movie with the sexy and talented Robert Downey Jr. High-five to you honey! ) Anyway, read and review! Let me know what you think...

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Nine

It was the early hours of the morning when Iron Maiden ran down the back alley way to the Stark Industries building. The darkness was usually the best cover whenever she was sent out on a mission. Plus doing it at this time of night meant the workers were still home in their beds sound asleep; meaning a lot less eyes she would have to avoid being seen by. She turned a corner, and a chain link fence blocked her path. She increased her speed, jumped, and swung her body over the fence. Her feet hit the ground, and she continued to run. A couple of turns later, she came to the end of the alley way, and was greeted by the electric barbed wire fence that surrounded the branch. She slowly peered her head around the corner, then quickly pulled back to hide her face. There was a moving security camera mounted on a pole attached to the electric fence, recording everything that went on around the premises. She took in a deep breath, then peered around the corner one more time. She counted the seconds of how long it took for the camera to make a complete rotation.

"_15 seconds,"_ she thought. She turned her head to the other side and looked down the fence, trying to find the next camera. She found it, but it was at least 80 feet away. _"It could still catch me." _She watched it closely, and realized the two cameras were synced to the same rotation cycle. _"When they're looking straight ahead, that's when I can move."_ She moved back into the alley some feet, then began counting. _"One. Two. Three."_ She began running again. Once she had built up to a constant speed, she jumped on the wall, then jumped to the opposite wall, getting higher and higher as she approached the fence. She came to the end of the alley, and with both feet pushing off the wall, she soared into the air, and over the fence, missing the barbed wire by centimeters. She tucked and rolled to the ground, then sprung to her feet, continuing to run to the main building. Amazingly enough, she knew where the cameras were, so she knew which areas to avoid and which areas she could walk down without being caught. She maneuvered her way between buildings and workshops. She finally saw an entrance in sight, and ran for it, however the oncoming security guard made her stop and hide behind a corner. She rolled her eyes in frustration.

"_This is ridiculous,"_ she thought. _"I am not some petty mall thief, trying to avoid the mall cops."_ She waited and watched the guard look over the area with his flash light. He was unarmed, save for a bottle of pepper spray at his side. She smirked to herself. _"Like that's gonna stop me."_

"Premises is all clear, Mike. I'm coming back in," the guard said into his radio.

"Roger that," was the reply from the radio. The guard walked to the door, and swiped his card in the security lock. The door unlocked for him, and he pulled the door open, not bothering to make sure it closed behind him as he walked back inside the building. Iron Maiden ran over to the door, and grabbed it right before it closed. She opened it and walked inside, following the guard at a safe distance. She watched as he whistled and twirled his flashlight in his hand, obviously not caring about his job. Stepping lightly, she got closer to him. Once she was right behind him, she hit the crook of his neck with the side of her hand, and he fell limp to the ground, his flash light rolling at least five feet away from him. She continued on to the surveillance room, again dodging the areas she knew were swarming with cameras.

She came to the surveillance room, however there was one more guard she would have to take care of. She walked forward, thinking she would really have to cause this guy some physical pain; however her plans changed when he picked up his radio.

"John, everything okay?" He waited a moment for his comrade to respond. "John?" After another moment of waiting for his fellow guard's response, he stood up and walked out of the room, leaving it wide open for prying eyes to take a peek inside. Once the guard was out of sight, she walked into the room and went to work. She sat down at one of the computers and began searching for the date and specific time she needed. She found the file, and the video feed appeared on the computer screen.

There was the crowd standing outside the branch on the day of the opening, and to the back was Pepper Potts standing right beside Kahn's assistant. Iron Maiden shook her head and watched the feed attentively. About a minute of footage passed until she saw Mr. Yong's figure come into view. She slowed the speed of the footage, and watched his actions. His arm extended out, and sure enough, he dropped the ring into the black tote bag hanging from her shoulder. Just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, she rewound the footage, and slowed it down even more. She watched, eyes glued to the screen. Again, his arm extended out, the ring held between his thumb and index finger, and dropped it into the bag.

Iron Maiden closed her eyes and sighed. _"Great, this is just great," _she thought. _"On the bright side we know where the ring is."_ She closed the video file, left the computer the way it was, and exited the room. _"Now he's gonna want me to travel to the States, I just know it."_ She exited the building, avoiding the cameras, knowing that tomorrow would bring new challenges, not to mention severe jetlag for the next couple of days.

* * *

Tony laid on the couch in his workshop, desperately trying to get some sleep. He knew he laid there for a couple of hours, just staring at the ceiling.

"Jarvis," Tony began. "What time is it?"

"It is 9:30am, sir," the AI replied. Tony sighed. During the entire time he had been home, he had gotten probably less than an hour's worth of sleep. He rose up and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Huh, mid-morning and we haven't heard from Miss Potts," he said.

"Miss Potts asked me to inform you, sir, that she would be going straight to the office this morning for a meeting with Accounting." Tony's back straightened even more as that got his attention.

"A meeting with Accounting and she didn't tell me?" he asked.

"She felt it was best that you get as much sleep as you possibly could," Jarvis replied dryly. Grunting, he pushed himself off the couch and walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He picked out a suit and quickly got dressed. He walked back down the stairs to the basement while tying his tie. He grabbed the keys to the Audi off his desk and got in the car. He made up his mind right there he was going to have a little chat with his assistant about letting him miss important meetings, especially ones that involved her.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Tony arrived at the branch. He made his way through the hallways to his office. Just about everyone would nod or say 'Good Morning' to him out of courtesy, considering he was the man in charge, and he did have a very powerful weaponized suit that could destroy the entire building and the people in it. He came to the floor of his office and the elevator doors opened. He began walking towards his office until a certain redhead came into view. She was standing alone by the secretary's desk, signing paperwork of some sort. He froze in his tracks as a wicked grin formed on his face. An idea formed in his head; an idea for revenge.

"_Stealth of a hippo, huh?"_ he thought to himself. _"I'll show her just how stealthy I can be."_ Proceeding forward he stepped lightly, slowly making his way to her. She looked good today; she was wearing a black pencil skirt with a silver short-sleeved top that accented the curve of her hips. For a moment he was distracted; he loved admiring her from the back. _"Focus,"_ he thought while shaking his head. He continued on, careful not to make his shoes squeak on the tile floor. Once he got about two feet away from her, his thrust his arms out to grab her sides, but the next thing he knew he was being flipped over, and his face met the cool tile floor, while one of his arms was being pinned painfully behind him. It was then he heard a sharp intake of air above him.

"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed. Immediately she rose off of him and let go of his arm, settling it back down to his side. "Oh my God, honey, I'm so sorry!" She carefully flipped him over, not wanting to hurt him (or his ego) anymore than what she already had. He breathed in and blinked a couple of times, then looked at her. The expression on her face was pure horror, being that she had just man-handled her boyfriend. "Honey, I am so sorry. I didn't know it was you, I thought it was someone else. You're usually not that quiet," she explained, almost freaking out.

"Yeah, well, I was trying to prove a point," he said dizzily, while trying to move the arm that was almost broken off.

"Tony, please," Pepper began, almost worried. "Whatever you do, please don't tell Happy." The moment those words left her mouth, the expression on his face went from pain to disbelief.

"Wait a minute," he began. "I'm the one on the floor with a possible concussion and you're worried about Happy?" he exclaimed. Sure that was probably the narcissist coming out in him, that her attention should be focused on nothing else but him right now; but the fact that she almost broke his arm, and head, and immediately went to worrying over his body guard was crossing the line just a little. Nervously, she began wringing her hands as she opened her mouth to explain herself.

"A few months ago, he offered to teach me how to box; and I didn't want to hurt his feelings and I didn't want to seem rude so I let him teach me how to box," she explained in one breath. Tony just stared at her with a blank expression on his face. "Please don't tell him, he'll be so embarrassed, and I don't want to do that to him. So can you please just keep this between us?" she asked. Tony blinked, then a smirk formed on his lips.

"I promise I will not tell Happy that you can kick his butt just as easily as Natasha can." Pepper rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder.

"Tony, I'm being serious."

"So am I. Wait a minute," he began, placing a hand on her arm. "You mean to tell me he gave you private boxing lessons? Where the hell was I at?" he asked, genuinely trying to look angry.

"If I recall correctly, busy saving the world," she said dryly. Tony snorted.

"Don't say it like that; you make it sound boring and dull." She shook her head then placed a hand on the side of his face.

"Seriously, Tony, are you okay?" she asked, leaning over him a little more. His eyes rolled up to think about it, then looked back to her.

"I will be as soon as you kiss me."

"Tony, we're at work," she said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I can't feel my legs, Pepper. I think you may have to call Happy…" Pepper's lips slammed down on top of Tony's, not letting him finish that sentence. "Mmm," he moaned against her lips. She continued to kiss him for a few more seconds, then slowly rose up and looked at him.

"Better?" she asked. He nodded.

"Much. I think I can feel my legs now," he said, a smirk growing on his face.

"Of course you can." She began to rise up, but Tony stopped her by placing his hands on her arms. She looked down to him. The look of concern once again appeared on her face. "What is it?" He swallowed nervously.

"You just man-handled me," he stated. She nodded slowly, anxious to see what he would say next. "Would it be weird if I said I was a little turned on?" he asked as serious as he could. Pepper couldn't take it anymore, and began laughing as the tension drained from her face. Her forehead fell to his chest as she tried to regain her composure. "Good, you're laughing. My deed is done for the day."

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" she asked once she was able to lift her head from his chest.

"That should not be news to you." She shook her head and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Come on, let's get you off the floor," she said, helping him rise. He placed a hand on the floor and pushed up allowing his torso to come off the floor.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad this happened. I know now not to mess with you." She snorted.

"Yeah, that's another skeleton in my closet. I know how to defend myself," she said. Tony paused and looked at her with wide eyes.

"You're not a SHIELD agent, are you?"

"Oh no! No, no, I am 100% Pepper Potts, assistant to Tony Stark. There is nothing secret about me," she said, assuring him. He sighed in relief and rose back to his feet.

"Good, I can handle only so much SHIELD inference in my life," he said bitterly. She giggled and began to help him straighten out his suit.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.

"My head hurts where you slammed me against the floor, but nothing too drastic. I'll survive," he said as he winked at her. A soft smile came to her lips as she dusted him off.

"Well, since you're here, I might as well tell you there is an emergency meeting with Hong Kong in 30 minutes."

"Yeah, speaking of meetings," he began, sounding like his usual hard-ass self. "Why was Jarvis told about the meeting with Accounting and not me?" She glared up at him.

"Because Jarvis isn't sleep deprived," she said bluntly. Tony snorted.

"Like that helped. I didn't sleep much if you most know."

"Mmm, side effect of jetlag. That'll wear off soon, I hope," she said, focused on adjusting his tie.

"Of course it would wear off quicker if you stayed with me." The death glare returned and he held his hands up in defeat. "I know, I know. I'm working on it." She nodded and her hands dusted of his lapels.

"Much better."

"I look presentable now?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. You actually look like a CEO." He smirked and turned to enter his office.

"Alright, so Hong Kong has been open less than 24 hours and already there's an emergency meeting scheduled. What's going on?" he asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Apparently there has been some confusion over the blueprints of a specific part they're set to start production on," Pepper explained.

"Oh God," he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anything else I need to know about?"

"Rhodey called, he said he needed you to call him ASAP."

"Really?" he asked. Pepper looked at him then nodded her head. "Huh. Did he say why?"

"No, but he did say it was very important that you get back to him as quickly as you could."

"You know what this is? He found something wrong with the suit and needs me to help him figure it out," he said.

"Well, aren't you going to help him?" Tony couldn't believe that she would actually ask him that.

"Of course not," he said.

"Tony, come on, would you please grow up?" she said, getting a little frustrated by these childish games he still insisted on playing.

"Me? You think it's me? He came in and stole my suit, Pepper. Yes, _my_ suit."

"With good reason, Tony; you can't say that you wouldn't have done the exact same thing." Pepper glared at him, as if daring him to say another word on the subject. Tony huffed and turned to his computer.

"Anything else on the schedule?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Director Fury called. He said he needs to speak you about some new developments." Tony grunted loudly and dropped his head onto his hand.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," he said sarcastically. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him sympathetically.

"The day will be over before you know it," she said softly. He reached up and placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed it. She sighed as she turned her hand and squeezed back. She felt bad for him; he was trying to get back into the mainstream of things, but being both CEO and Iron Man sometimes took its toll on him. After thinking about it, she shouldn't have been surprised to find the sleeping pills in his bag. She knew he could go days without sleep (granted that was caffeine assisted), and when his body finally crashed, it would crash, hard. And now, she supposed, it was finally catching up with him; hence why he went behind her back and got the prescription, hoping to keep that to himself so not to worry her.

"_Maybe I should move in with him,"_ she thought. _"At least then I could monitor what he consumes."_

"_No, stupid!"_ her conscience began. _"You move in with him because you want to; not so you can be his mother! He already had one of those, he doesn't need another one."_

"Is there anything else on the schedule, Miss Potts?" he asked, breaking up her internal dispute.

"Um, no, that's it for today, Mr. Stark."

"Good." He let go of her hand and stood up. "Let's get the day over with then, shall we?" She nodded, and together they left his office and traveled two floors down to the conference room.

* * *

"Okay, so now are we all on the same page?" Tony asked, after almost an hour and a half of going over misprinted schematics on one of the blueprints.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Stark," Mr. Kahn said through the television screen.

"Great. Now, how do you propose we get the new set of blueprints to you?"

"I shall send Miss Vostokoff for them, along with the incorrect blueprints."

"Alright, let's try to avoid this confusion next time," Tony said dryly.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Stark, it won't happen again," Mr. Kahn said assuredly.

"Let's hope." With that, the video conference ended and the screen went black. Tony huffed out a breath and slumped in his chair. He waited until everyone else had filed out of the room before opening his mouth. "Remind me to look those blueprints over when they get here, and fire whoever decided to put bogus measurements on it," he said agitated. Pepper placed a hot cup of coffee in front of him.

"Noted, Mr. Stark," she said in her 'assistant mode' voice. Tony narrowed his eyes at her. She began typing something on her phone, then felt his eyes staring at her. "Yes, Mr. Stark?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from the phone.

"You know, it's just us in here now; you don't have to be professional right now," he said, then taking a sip from the cup.

"Like I said earlier, we are at work; and I've already told you that we are to be professional in the workplace." Tony snorted.

"Oh yeah, you were definitely professional earlier with your lips on mine while I was lying on the floor." Pepper slammed her hand on the table in front of him.

"I did that to shut you up. And for your information, _Mr. Stark_, if I wasn't more than just your assistant, you would have a very massive sexual harassment lawsuit pending against you," she said glaring into his eyes. A wry smile came to his lips as he leaned closer to her face.

"That's why I promoted you in the first place, to avoid matters like that." Pepper rolled her eyes and leaned back up, her focus back on her phone. "One of these days I'm gonna throw that thing out the window just to spite you."

"Tony Stark, I swear if you even lay a finger nail on my phone I'll key the Audi, then your suit," she growled. Tony stared at her wide eyed.

"You wouldn't dare?" Pepper smiled wickedly.

"I'll have Jarvis record it, start to finish." Before Tony could respond, Pepper's phone began to ring. She sighed. "It's Rhodey," she said. Tony quickly stood up and waved his arms in front of her.

"I'm not here," he quickly said, trying to back up to the door. Pepper rolled her eyes and answered her phone.

"Hello? Hey Jim. Yes, he's right here," she said, then handed her phone to him. Tony grunted.

"I told you to tell him I'm not here," he whined.

"Tony, you need to talk to him," she said. He took the phone and placed it to his ear. She pointed a finger at him and looked deeply into his eyes, not in the good way either. "I meant what I said." Tony swallowed nervously and nodded his head. She really was scary when she was serious, and the last thing he wanted was to return home to find he needed to repaint his suit. He took a deep breath, and focused on the caller.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tony. It's Rhodey," Tony heard him say.

"I know who it is, Pepper told me the moment you called," he said. He heard Rhodey clear his throat before he continued.

"Look, Tony, I need a favor."

"_Here it comes,"_ he thought.

"Can you please come and take a look at the suit for me?" he asked, hesitantly.

"_Yep, I knew it!"_ He smiled triumphantly.

"Give me one good reason why I should help you? You stole it, remember?" Tony sat back down in his chair and starting twirling in it. Pepper rolled her eyes at both the comment and his actions; she knew he acted like a child on purpose, and she knew he did it to get on her nerves.

"Tony, how long are you going to be playing that card? I already apologized, remember?" Rhodey said, defending himself.

"Just give me one good reason?"

"Because if it wasn't for me, your ass would've been sliced by the Russian." Tony paused to consider his response.

"Alright, fair enough. What is wrong with it anyway?" Rhodey sighed.

"Everything is wrong with it."

"I thought it was fixed when Natasha hacked into it."

"Apparently not. Please, Tony, I'm begging you, please come take a look at it. I promise I will never, ever, steal another one of your suits ever again if you just do this one thing for me." Tony went silent a moment and stopped twirling in his chair; he wouldn't admit it but he was getting dizzy.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it. When do you want me to come take a look?"

"Today, preferably. Tony, you have no idea how much I appreciate this, man," Rhodey said, sounding relieved.

"Yeah, well, my Christmas present better be good this year," he said, snobbishly. He got off the phone with Rhodey and handed the phone back to Pepper. She took it and smiled down on him. He just stared into space for a moment when he realized she was just standing there. Slowly, he looked up to her. "What?" he asked.

"I'm proud of you," she said, still smiling. Tony rolled his eyes and got up off the chair and walked towards the door.

"Let Fury know I'll reschedule our meeting when I feel like it," he said, the hard-ass back.

"Yes, Mr. Stark," she said as she followed him out the door.

* * *

Mr. Kahn sat as his desk rubbing his temples. Melina sat beside his desk, facing him, looking at him kindly.

"It wasn't you fault about the mix up," she stated.

"I know." He looked up to her. "But now we have some parts that will be delayed because of this mistake." Melina patted his hand.

"I will be on a plane this afternoon to pick up the corrected blueprints, and then we can get production back on schedule." Mr. Kahn smiled and gently grabbed her hand.

"I don't know what I would do without you," he said.

"Neither do I," she said, grinning. Mr. Kahn laughed at the comment and turned back to his paperwork.

"Oh, one more thing, Mr. Kahn," she began.

"Yes, Melina?" he asked, still looking at the papers.

"About the inquiry of certain supplies going missing," she continued. Mr. Kahn ceased his reading and slowly turned his head to look at her. "It is confirmed on who took it," she said, timidly. Mr. Kahn leaned back into his chair and just starred at her for a moment.

"Then you know what you have to do," he said calmly. She nodded quickly.

"Yes, sir." They sat there a moment and said nothing to each other. "Will that be all, Mr. Kahn?" she finally asked.

"That will be all, Miss Vostokoff," he said, leaning back up to the paperwork. Quickly, she got up off her seat and walked to the door of his office. His eyes followed her to his office door. "Melina?" She turned just as she was walking through his door.

"Yes, Mr. Kahn?" she asked, eyes wide, ready for whatever request he had this time. Instead of a request, a small smile grew on his lips.

"Good luck," he said. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, sir." With that, she turned and closed the door behind her.


	11. Chapter Ten

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey everybody! I'm back with Chapter Ten, YAY! One thing, I know nothing about computers except the basic functions :D so in case you're wondering, I made all of that stuff up. Oh, and please do check out my tumblr and livejournal for the FANTASTIC banner nani1986 made for the story. I'll put a link to it on my profile. It's so awesome! Thank you sweetie! :-* Last thing, I don't own Iron Man.

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Ten

It was mid afternoon when Tony raced the Audi down the two lane road in the middle of the desert, on his way to help Rhodey with the suit. To be honest, if it wasn't for Pepper he wouldn't be doing this. To hear her say that she was proud of him still had his stomach doing somersaults in his body.

He was expecting the worse, but he also knew something was terribly wrong; otherwise they wouldn't be bringing him in to help them fix it. After about half an hour of travel time he pulled up to the front gate and was met by two armed security guards.

"Good afternoon, boys," Tony said in his usual smug way. "I'm here to see Colonel Rhodes."

"I'm sorry, Sir, I can't let you in without security clearance," said one of the guards. Tony pulled down his sunglasses and looked at the guard.

"He called me earlier," he explained. "Call in and find out for yourself." The guards exchanged looks as one of them walked away. Tony waited patiently as they called it in. After a few moments of drumming on the steering wheel, he came back over.

"He's clear; let him through." Immediately the gates opened.

"Thank you, have a nice day," Tony said to the guard, and drove on into the base. He drove to the side of the building and coincidentally Rhodey was standing there waiting for him. Tony pulled the car into a parking spot, turned it off and got out. "Do you have powers now, Platypus?" Tony asked him, walking over to him. The look of confusion graced Rhodey's face.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, you were standing right there waiting for me. Can you sense my presence whenever I'm near, or something?" Tony asked as seriously as he could. Rhodey sighed and rolled his eyes.

"If you call radio verification super powers then yes, I developed those a long time ago." Tony smirked at the comment.

"Alright, can we get this over with?" he asked. Rhodey raised his eyebrows, then motioned for Tony to follow him.

"Yeah, come on." Rhodey turned to enter the building, and Tony was right on his heels. As they walked through the building, Tony got a lot of mixed looks. Some from obvious fans, gasping at the sight of him; some looked disgusted by the mere sight of him, and then there were the very few females that would ogle him as he walked by.

"Am I on America's Most Wanted or something?" Tony asked.

"It's a possibility," Rhodey said. They walked to the hanger where the War Machine suit was being held.

"Okay, so where is it?" Tony asked. Rhodey pointed to a partition on the other side of the hanger.

"It's over there," he said, continuing to walk.

"Alright, let's do this," Tony said, speeding up the pace and getting ahead of Rhodey.

"Tony, you might want to slow down. You're not gonna like what you see." Tony snorted.

"Trust me, Platypus, I've already prepared myself for the worse," Tony said over his shoulder. Rhodey sighed and just let him continue on. Tony turned the corner of the partition and stopped dead in his tracks. Rhodey smirked and walked over beside him, moving his head from the suit to Tony.

"I told you."

"What the hell did you do to my suit?" Tony asked while keeping his eyes on the mess before him. Tony felt as if he was about to have a heart attack.

"Technically, it's not your suit anymore, it's property of the United States."

"What the hell did you do to the suit, Rhodes?" Tony asked again glaring at him, this time letting some of his temper show. Rhodey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know, I know, okay? Can you spare me the lecture and help me fix it?" Rhodey asked, getting frustrated himself. Tony, his mind already calculating what needed to be done, turned back to the suit.

"Man, I don't believe this. How could you…"

"Tony, please? I'm begging you." Rhodey paused. "Help me fix it." Tony closed his mouth, inhaled through his nose, and exhaled slowly.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get to work. But honestly, where am I supposed to begin? If this is the outside, I don't want to know what the inside looks like. What exactly is going on with it?" Rhodey grunted and walked over to one of the computers on the desk.

"Where do I begin with that list?" he asked. "The GPS tracker in the suit is no longer functioning, it's not linking to our computer, the navigation software has frozen…"

"Okay, okay, I think I got it," Tony said, making Rhodey scoot over so he could look at the diagnostics screen. He pulled out his transparent computer screen from his pocket. He also took out a Bluetooth earpiece and placed it in his ear, then hitting the button on it. "Jarvis? You there?"

"For you, Sir, always," Jarvis said, in his usual monotone voice.

"Link to the computers and run another set of complete diagnostics, and display everything on the screen," Tony commanded.

"Right away, Sir," responded the AI. Rhodey looked over Tony's shoulder as the data appeared on the screen.

"How long is that going to take him?" Rhodey asked.

"Diagnostics are complete, Sir," Jarvis said. Tony glanced at Rhodey, then back to the screen.

"All right, how many bugs did you find?"

"Several, Sir, and they seem to be blocking the functions for software ignition."

"Oh, that's not good," Tony said, pressing on the screen.

"What is it?" Rhodey asked.

"There are still some bugs, and they're not letting anything run," he explained.

"I thought Romanov took care of them?"

"Agent Romanov was able to temporarily disable them, however they were able to reactivate," Jarvis explained.

"Apparently she's not as good as we thought," Tony said. "Jarvis, hack in please and remove the bugs."

"Sir, that will take some time."

"I don't care, just do it."

* * *

About an hour and a half later, after all bugs were gone, and communication with the suit was reestablished.

"Alright, so basically, it looks like the internal systems are back up to their full capacity," Tony said as he looked over the mess in front of him and let out a frustrated sigh.

"How in the world were you able to create such a mess like this?" he asked.

"It wasn't just me, Tony," Rhodey said in his defense. Tony laughed as he leaned over the mess of metal and wires, trying to figure out where each piece went. He replaced wires, and threw some out considering they were no good after being exposed.

"_What kinds of idiots do they have working on this project?"_ Tony asked himself.

A couple more hours later, they had the suit almost done. They had the chest piece popped up, and both of them were hunched over, Rhodey holding the wire as Tony soldered it in place.

"So how are you and Pepper doing?" he asked out of the blue, still keeping his eye on the wire.

"Um," Tony began, blowing on the solder then continuing. "We're… stable," he said, almost unsure of himself. Rhodey looked up to him.

"Stable?" he asked, not believing he had just said that. "Stable isn't the word I would use to describe a relationship." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Give me a break, okay? You know this is new territory for me." Rhodey nodded with a smirk.

"You guys still haven't had sex yet, have you?"

"If you don't mind, please Rhodey, I would prefer not to think about that right now." Rhodey pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.

"Now I understand why you said 'stable'," he said, a few sputters escaping. Tony rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I mean, I can understand her point of view in all this, and I don't blame her. I've got quite a few years to make up for," Tony explained.

"Have you two been talking, at least? Have you asked her about herself?" Rhodey asked. "Like where did she grow up or have you guys made plans to visit her parents?"

"I won't be meeting her parents, Rhodey." Tony sighed.

"Why is that?" He looked over to him.

"For the same reason as mine, except she lost hers when she was eight."

"Wow, man, even I didn't know that." Tony nodded and went back to the solder.

"Both of her parents were murdered," he said, practically whispering it.

"What?" Rhodey gasped.

"Yeah, and the gun that was used was found in her mom's hand." Rhodey was at loss for words.

"I can't believe she lost them that way."

"I know. I didn't believe it when she first told me, but it's Pepper, why would she lie about something like that?" Tony paused for a moment. "I didn't want to believe that something that bad had happened to her. And then, when she was sixteen she lost her older brother."

"Wow, man, at least she opened up to you. I mean, I'm glad she didn't keep this to herself."

"Yeah, I was sort of prying for the information."

"Yeah, she didn't have to tell you but she did. She's opening up to you, Tony; that's a good sign."

"Yeah I guess." They were silent for a few moments as Tony finished. "Her brother was military. She said she lost him to the call of duty."

"Do you know what branch he was in?" Rhodey asked.

"No, she didn't say. After that I really didn't want to pry anymore, but I do know his name was Jason."

"Jason Potts. She was sixteen when it happened, so what year was that?" Tony thought about it for a moment.

"She was born in 1975, so I'd say about 1991."

"I'll look into it and see how it happened."

"Rhodey," Tony began, getting uncomfortable.

"You don't want to know Tony, that's fine. But as a military man, I would like to know. He was probably in the first Iraq War." Tony nodded and started on the next piece.

Another hour later, the suit was finally complete. Tony looked it over, and back up to Rhodey.

"This is the first and last time I help you," he said. "You're on your own from now on." Rhodey nodded and shook Tony's hand.

"Tony, thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this," he said, smiling at his friend.

"Well, this was my final goodbye to it." Rhodey grinned.

"Hey, if you want, and I can try to get you visitation rights." Tony laughed at that one.

"No, it's all right, I'll see her every once in a while."

Rhodey escorted Tony back to the front of the building. They said their goodbyes, and Tony left the base. He zoomed down the road once more, towards the setting sun; the red hues reminding him of a certain redhead that was already on his mind.

* * *

Pepper pulled up to the mansion. There still wasn't any sign of Tony, and she hadn't heard from him since this afternoon. She entered the house and walked into the living room.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark would like me to tell you that he is in the basement," Jarvis said.

"Thank you, Jarvis." She placed her purse down on the couch and walked towards the steps to the basement. She slowly walked down, and peered through the glass, looking for him. He was sitting in the hot rod, with some images projecting in front of him. He had a smile on his face, which meant he was in a good mood. From the side she couldn't tell what the video was, so she punched in her code, and walked over. When she finally heard the audio, she didn't need to see the video to know what he was watching. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, not believing that he had found her Valedictorian speech from college on the internet.

"_This is our time; our time to take the world, grab hold, and never let go."_

She rolled her eyes at the line, then looked over at Tony, eyes glued to the screen looking like he was hypnotized by her words. She smirked and walked closer to him, standing right beside the hot rod, waiting for him to notice her. His eyes stayed glued to the screen, with a cheesy but cute smile spreading across his face; she didn't think she saw him blink, not once. When at last the speech had ended, she didn't believe her eyes when Tony actually stood up and clapped his hands, applauding the video. Pepper's face narrowed in confusion.

"_Is he for real? He can't be serious,"_ she thought to herself. She watched him finally sit down. He turned his head down to look at something in the car, but his eyes caught sight of her in his peripheral vision and jumped back.

"Geez, Potts, don't scare me like that," he said, his heart almost jumping out of his chest.

"I've been standing here for like, three minutes, what were you doing? Oh wait, I know, drooling over my Valedictorian speech," she said with a smirk.

"And I must say Potts," he said while scooting over in the car and patting the spot beside him so she could sit down with him. "If there had been a cute and smart girl like you competing against me for summa cum laude, I would've been tempted to let her get it." She rolled her eyes and climbed into the car beside him.

"So, this is what you've been doing the entire time you've been home? Stalking me?"

"No, not stalking. You make it sound like I'm obsessed with you, which I may be, but that's beside the point. At least it's a healthy obsession," he said, grinning. Pepper had to laugh at that.

"Tony, if you want to know something, all you have to do is ask," she said.

"I know," he began. "But it feels like if I ask you questions I'm snooping in your business," he explained. Pepper blinked at him and turned back to the screen.

"As opposed to resorting to the internet for your information?" she asked, pointing to the screen. "That's kind of creepy, Tony. That's what stalkers do." He snorted and looked away from her.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I won't Google you anymore."

"No, no, I didn't say that. All I'm saying is I don't mind to tell you about myself if you just ask me, that's all." They sat there a moment, just looking at each other.

"Alright, why did you quit being a model?" he asked. A small smile grew on her face as she relaxed into the seat.

"Very good question. I wanted to earn my living honestly, not by my looks alone. Being a model, you're automatically labeled as being stupid, whether you're a blonde, brunette, or even a red head; and I didn't like that. Isn't that one of the main reasons why you made them your conquests, Tony? I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm just saying isn't that why you targeted them the most?" He looked at her and shrugged.

"Yeah, actually, it was," he said, snickering.

"See? I didn't want to have that label. And it worked out for the better, if I say so myself," she said, scooting over to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a deep soft kiss. She placed her hand on his cheek and held him close to her. He pulled back slowly and gazed into her eyes. She blinked, trying to focus on him. "Is it okay if I spend the night tonight?" she asked. Tony was taken aback.

"Of course it's okay. Why would you even ask me that?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I don't know; I'm still getting used to kissing you." Tony leaned back down, and kissed her with more force. She wrapped an arm around his neck as he pulled her closer to him. With his other arm, he pulled up on her leg, and gently laid them flat on the seat in the car. He pulled up on her skirt and hooked her leg around his hip. His hands roamed over her body, as hers did the same. They ghosted down her sides, feeling her curves, as her hand went to his back and felt the hard muscles twitching at her touch. His tongue gently parted her lips, and met her tongue. Their tongues slid against each other, until she pulled away slightly and began sucking on his bottom lip. A low moan escaped his throat, and he maneuvered his mouth to where he was sucking on her lip instead. His hand moved back to her leg, and moved to her knee, keeping it in place on his hip.

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted.

"What?" Tony yelled as he broke away from Pepper's mouth, glaring at the ceiling as if he was going to kill it.

"Director Fury is in the living room and wishes to speak with you," the AI stated.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, and fell back on Pepper, resting his head on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said soothingly, while rubbing his back.

"Everybody's got it in for me. I don't understand it," he whined, then went back to kissing her. "Hold that thought," he said between kisses, while moving out of the car.

"Tony, maybe," she began, but was cut off by his mouth on hers.

"No, no, seriously, hold that thought. I'm going to go kill him real quick, and then I'll be right back down," he said between kisses, then dashed to the door, and up the stairs.

Tony reached the top and saw Fury looking out his living room window. "This had better be good Fury. You know it's rude to drop in on people unannounced."

"Then we have something in common, don't we Stark?" Fury asked, turning around to look at him. Tony rolled his eyes. "Hello, Miss Potts," he said, directing his attention behind Tony. Quickly he turned around and saw Pepper walking towards him.

"I thought I said to wait for me?" Tony said, surprised that she was there.

"I figured you could use all the extra help you could get," she said, winking at him.

"Did I interrupt something?" Fury asked, narrowing his eye at them.

"Yes," Tony said.

"No," Pepper said. Tony sighed, and glared at Fury.

"Alright, what is it? Apparently it must be important if you're here at my house at this time of night."

"You could say that," he said, putting a metal briefcase on the coffee table, opening it, and turning it around for them to see the screen inside of it. "There's been a breach of security." The screen came alive, and showed security feed from SHEILD headquarters. "The woman in the video calls herself Iron Maiden." The masked woman, clad head to toe in metal, appeared and began beating and taking out many agents. "Four days ago she broke into HQ and duplicated plans of the arc reactor in your Hong Kong branch." Tony looked at him.

"Really? And you're just now letting me know this?"

"She was out of sight until late last night, when she broke into the branch itself." The footage changed to the branch and showed her maneuvering the hallways.

"What?" Tony couldn't believe this. "What did she want?" Fury shrugged.

"That we don't know, however we do know that she must be an employee because she knew where all the cameras were in the building and was able to dodge them."

"Wait a second, so what are we watching here?" Pepper asked.

"Specialized cameras that only SHIELD knows about."

"Excuse me? You mean to tell me that you have SHIELD tech all over the building?" Tony asked, on the verge of going ballistic.

"Yes, Tony, I do. And looking at the footage I'd say it was pretty damn necessary. I've already made Mr. Kahn aware of the situation."

"When was that, exactly?" Tony asked.

"This morning at the beginning of business hours," Fury said, not blinking. Tony had to clench his jaw shut. The fact that Kahn knew about this when the meeting was going on made his temper almost boil over. He quickly walked away before he snapped in front of Pepper, and started taking deep breaths. Pepper sighed, and turned back to Fury.

"Have you been able to track her since last night?" Pepper asked.

"Unfortunately, no. She is a very dangerous and skillful person. She was able to take out several of my best agents, including Romanov," Fury explained. They heard Tony laugh from a distance.

"So the Black Widow got taken out, huh? Not as good as you thought, huh Fury?" Tony asked, trying to be a smart ass. Pepper heard a growl come from Fury's throat.

"Um, will she be alright?" Pepper asked, trying desperately to divert his attention from Tony.

"She should be, although it will take some time for her to recover completely."

"Please send her my regards, if you don't mind," she said, but then realized Fury was staring awfully hard at her. "Um, Director is there something on my face?" she asked, touching it to see if she could feel anything.

"Huh?" he asked. "Oh no, no. I'm sorry, you just," he paused a moment. "You look like someone I knew, a long time ago, that's all." Pepper nodded and looked over to Tony, who was still glaring at Fury. "I found some more of your father's things, Tony. They're in that box right there," Fury said, pointing to a wooden box on the couch. Tony walked over to the couch, and eyed the items, before looking back to Fury, who had already closed the briefcase. "Keep your eyes open, Tony. Whoever is plotting against you obviously has been putting a lot of thought into this."

"Yeah, why do I have this feeling that you know more than what you're leading on?" he asked, still not amused.

"I know no more than you at this point. And since it is your company, I do suggest that you run more thorough background checks on all the female employees in your company, especially the ones in Hong Kong." Tony nodded his head.

"Can SHIELD assist with that?" he asked.

"We already are," Fury said, grabbing the briefcase and walking towards the door. "Oh, and Tony…"

"Please, don't say the 'eye' line. Because seriously, it makes me want to throw something heavy at your head every time you say it." Fury laughed and walked out of the house. "Pepper," he said, turning to her to see that she was looking through the box already.

"Yes, Tony?" she asked.

"Schedule an emergency meeting with Hong Kong first thing tomorrow. Mr. Kahn needs to be reminded of whose employee he is," Tony said through gritted teeth.

"Noted. What would you like me to do with all this?" she asked, picking the box up off the couch.

"Just take it downstairs, I'll deal with it later," he said, frustrated. She nodded and moved passed him, while still eyeing some of the items. Tony turned to the window and looked out at the ocean.

"_Well, the mood is completely gone,"_ he thought to himself, and ran his fingers through his hair. Not a moment later he heard a sharp gasp and a loud thud come from behind him.

"Pepper!" he said, turning around and walking over to her. She had dropped the box, but was standing there, gazing at a picture. He looked at her and realized her eyes were watering. "Pepper, are you okay?" he asked, slightly shaking her. She looked up to him and cleared her throat.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She turned back to the picture and pointed at someone. "That guy is your dad, right?" she asked. Tony looked at the picture.

"Yeah, that's him." She nodded, then pointed to the other man that was in the picture with his father.

"Do you know who that man is?" she asked. Tony looked at the man, and shook his head.

"He looks slightly familiar, but no, I don't know who he is." Pepper looked back at the picture and sighed.

"Don't you think… he looks like Liam Neeson?" she asked.

"The actor?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Uh huh, don't you think so?" she asked. Tony looked at it again.

"Yeah, I guess he does. Weird."

"This is going up," Pepper said with finality.

"What?" Tony asked. "Pepper, we don't know who that guy is. All I know is he's another buddy of my dad's."

"Yeah, but you could fake people out and say that your dad knew Liam Neeson," she said as she picked up the box. "Tomorrow I'm going to get a frame for it and put it up. I'll choose a discreet place," she said, then walked back downstairs. Tony just stood there dumfounded, not really knowing what just happened.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey everybody! Here's chapter eleven. Read and review. Also, let me mention something real quick. There was some confusion last chapter regarding the man in the picture that Pepper thought looked like Liam Neeson, THERE IS A PURPOSE FOR IT! Trust me, I went back and forth trying to decide whether or not to leave it or take it out, but I'm telling you guys there is a purpose, so keep that in mind. ;)

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Tony marched into the office with Pepper almost jogging behind him to keep up. Last night, she hadn't heard him come to bed until sometime after two in the morning, and when she got up at 6 AM sharp so did he, only he woke up in one of his pissy moods. She knew it had something to do with Fury's visit last night; with him revealing the security breach and the fact he spoke with Kahn behind Tony's back wasn't a good way to end the night, especially since things had heated up before his arrival. Pepper shook her head to discard the memory, and with Tony growling at everyone that came in sight, it wasn't hard to do so. She had always hated it when he got that way, even before they had gotten together. The man that she had deep feelings for was gone and the business man of an asshole side of his personality had shown through.

"Is the video feed ready?" he asked over his shoulder.

"It should be ready by the time we reach your office," she responded, still keeping up with him.

"It is and should be are two completely different things, Miss Potts." With that, Tony continued marching to his office, with Pepper on his heels. Her anger fumed at his snobby comment, and she took it just a little personal.

'_And that right there is one of the reasons why I went ten years without dating my boss,'_ she thought to herself. She said nothing else, not really wanting to get into it with him first thing this morning, and just lingered behind as they continued walking in silence.

Tony entered his office and made a b-line for his desk. Pepper sighed heavily as she watched him slam himself down into his chair and wiggle the mouse to his computer. He growled, impatient about the fact that Kahn was not on the other side, ready for their meeting. He stared at the screen while tapping his fingers on the desk. He was not in the mood for it today; just the slightest gesture plucked his nerves. Suddenly video feed came to life and Mr. Kahn came to view.

"A thousand apologies, Mr. Stark. I was caught up..." Tony held up his hand and Kahn stopped talking.

"Save your excuses for someone who cares, Gene," Tony said coldly. "What I am more interested in right now is why you never bothered to tell me there was a security breach the night before last." Mr. Kahn blinked a moment and swallowed nervously.

"I didn't sir, because Director Fury instructed me so," he explained.

"You are my employee, correct?" Tony's anger was starting to boil over. "I hired you, correct?" Mr. Kahn felt a lump form in his throat.

"With all due respect, Sir," he began. "He wanted to talk to you personally about it," he said as he tried to defend himself.

"Mr. Kahn, you are a Stark Industries employee, not a SHIELD employee; which means you DO NOT take orders from anyone except me, understand?" Mr. Kahn nodded his head. "A nod is not an answer," he spat.

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Stark," Kahn said quickly.

"Now, regarding the security breach itself," Tony said, changing the subject. "I need a list of every female employee you have there." Mr. Kahn's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"All female employees, Sir?" he asked.

"Yes, all female employees. SHIELD will be helping with an extensive background check on all female personal, and if I do not have that list by this afternoon, I will be forced to question your employment with this company. Understood?"

"Clearly, Sir."

"Good, let's hope this is the last time we meet on these circumstances." With that, Tony ended the call.

"Honestly, Tony was it really necessary to threaten his job?" Pepper asked, sitting in a chair in front of his desk. Tony's eyes glared into hers.

"Yes, Pepper, as a matter of fact it was. He needs to know that I don't play around when it comes to things like this," he explained while grabbing a folder on his desk and flipping it open.

"Tony, there are other ways to prove that other than threatening to fire him," she said. Tony let the file fall flat onto his desk and placed his hands on top of the folder.

"Pepper, I don't appreciate you questioning the way I speak to my employees," he practically growled at her.

"Tony, all I'm saying is there are other ways to show you're serious other than jumping the gun."

"Miss Potts, if you wanted to shake your finger at them saying 'Don't do that anymore,' you shouldn't have resigned," he spat at her, then looked down at the file in front of him. Pepper's grip on her phone tightened as she clenched her jaw shut, desperately not trying to say anything as the effects of her anger began to show on her skin. "Is there anything on the schedule I need to know about right now?" he asked, still not looking at her. Steam blew out of her nose as she slowly exhaled and looked down to her blackberry to check the schedule.

"You have a meeting with Hammer's lawyers at 11 am, and then a meeting with Marketing at 2 pm," she said flatly.

"Go to the Marketing meeting for me and take notes. I won't be able to make it." Pepper just nodded.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she asked bitterly.

"That will be all, Miss Potts," he said, still looking at the file. With that, she quickly got up and walked to the door with her head up. She walked out and made specifically sure the door slammed when she closed it behind her. Tony jumped when he heard the slam. He quickly got up as if to go after her, but instead he walked over to the table where the tray with the scotch and glasses sat. He quickly poured himself a drink and downed it all with one gulp. Two more drinks followed before he was satisfied for the moment.

'_If Fury had been ordering her employees around while she was CEO, she would have been thinking differently,'_ he thought while pouring another drink.

* * *

Around 11 o'clock, Tony and the company's lawyers gathered in the conference room with Hammer's lawyers. There were three men there, representing Hammer, and much to his surprise one of the men he recognized to be Damon Bradley, Pepper's ex.

'_Huh, the jerk was actually telling the truth about that one,'_ Tony thought to himself as he walked over to his seat and sat down, not paying the man much attention. The rest of the men followed suit and sat down around the table.

"Welcome gentlemen to this meeting," Michael Hudson, Tony's lawyer, began. "After our last meeting, I trust that your client has looked over the purchasing agreement and found it adequate for his taste." Hammer's lawyer, whose name had escaped Tony, snorted and looked at his colleagues before looking back to Mr. Hudson.

"Yes, my client looked the agreement over, however after reading the contract, he felt like he needed to speak with Mr. Stark in person." Tony began laughing.

"Exactly how is he going to do that when he's behind bars?" Tony asked. At that moment, Mr. Bradley opened up a laptop laying on the table and turned it on. At that instant, Hammer's image appeared on the screen. Tony grunted while rolling his eyes, mentally slapping himself in the head. "I should've known you'd find a way to get here, Justin," Tony said.

"Hello, Anthony," Justin said with an obvious fake smile plastered on his face. Tony looked at the screen more carefully and realized there were two armed security officers standing behind Justin. He had to laugh at that, considering he thought that Justin really wasn't _that_ much of a threat. He did have to hire a thug to do his dirty work for him, after all.

"That is a very interesting suit you're wearing, Justin. I had no idea that prison jumpsuits were in style this season." Justin cleared his throat before continuing.

"Yes, Anthony, I can send you some if you want, complete with handcuffs and your own security guard. There's plenty here, as you can see I have two, but I don't mind sharing for you, Anthony." Tony laughed.

"I'm sure you wouldn't."

"Please, gentlemen, let's settle down. May I ask what this is all about?"

"Yes, Mr. Hudson, thank you for getting us back on track," Justin said. "I looked over the proposal you drew up for me, Anthony, and it seems to me that the price you're asking for my company is uh…" Justin paused a moment. "Well, Anthony, it seems a lot _less_ than what I would prefer to sell it to you for." Tony had to snort at that.

"Well, Justin," he began as he folded his hands and placed them on top of the table. "I hate to break this to you, but you make cheap weapons. I figured since you made cheap weapons I ought to offer you a cheap price." Justin stood up abruptly, but then both security officers placed hands on his shoulders and thrusted him back down to his seat.

"Calm down, Hammer," one of them said to him. He began laughing and shook his head.

"You know, Anthony, you always did bring out the worst in me." Tony blinked a couple of times before continuing.

"You know, Justin, it's funny because I could say the exact same thing for your company."

"You filthy scumbag!" Hammer yelled as he stood up out of his seat again. "Do you honestly think I would sell my company to a rotten cheeky mother f-" The video feed ended before Justin could finish that sentence. Tony sat back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head.

"Well, that was successful," he said to Hammer's lawyers. Tony watched as they spoke amongst themselves. "I'm not coming down on my offer," he told them. "If your client had any brains about him, which he doesn't, he would take it, because nobody in their right mind is willing to buy his company, not even the U.S. Government. So deliver this message to your client: this is my first and final offer, take it or leave it."

* * *

Melina walked down the hallway of the main branch of Stark Industries. She had never been there before, and she was quite impressed with the building, however she thought the building she worked in was better, considering it was home to her. She continued on down the hallway to Tony's office.

"Excuse me ma'am, can I help you?" the lady at the front desk called to her.

"Oh yes," Melina began, walking back over to the woman. "I have an appointment with Mr. Stark to pick up some blueprints to take back to Hong Kong." At that moment, Pepper walked out of her office when she saw Melina talking to the secretary. For the first time that day, a smile graced her face and she walked over to her.

"Yes, we've been expecting you, Miss Vostokoff," Pepper said. Melina quickly turned around and smiled. She walked over to her friend, and threw her arms around her.

"I was so looking forward to seeing you. When Mr. Kahn told me that I needed to go to America, I got so excited because I knew I would get to see you again." Pepper sighed.

"Yeah, I was looking forward to seeing you, too." Melina pulled back and looked at her friend. Pepper still had a smile on her face, but she could tell that something was wrong.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked, her expression turning serious. Pepper shook her head.

"Oh no, everything is fine," she said as she looked towards Tony's office. "He's just being testy today, that's all," she explained. Melina sighed.

"I hope that isn't going to be a permanent thing." Pepper shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not so sure anymore." At that moment, Tony turned the corner and saw both of them standing there.

"Ah yes, Miss Vostokoff," Tony said. He approached them, and Pepper stepped back, and turned her attention to her phone so that she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," Melina began, smiling at him. "I'm here to pick up the corrected blueprints for Mr. Kahn." Tony held up a hand to her.

"First off, tone down the smile; the sun is shining brightly outside, I don't need it shining in here," he said, then walked passed them to his office. Both Melina and Pepper eyed each other before following him. Tony walked to his desk, picked up a metal briefcase, and walked back over to Melina. "I suppose you have the incorrect blueprints? Mr. Kahn told me you were to be bringing them." She nodded and opened her bag, pulling out a folder and handing it to him. Tony took the file from her and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Vostokoff, now if you ladies will excuse me, I'm too busy right now to chit chat," Tony said as he walked behind his desk and sat down. Melina eyed Pepper and she made a motion with her head towards the door. Both women walked out and Pepper gently shut the door behind her. They both walked into Pepper's office and she shut the door behind them for privacy.

"What in the world is his problem? Did he not get any last night?" Melina asked seriously. Pepper narrowed her eyes at the woman and Melina quickly held her hand up. "Don't answer that; I really don't want to know."

"For some reason, he's been a jerk more than usual today." Pepper sighed. "He's known for that kind of persona, ever since I worked for him. So it's to be expected." Melina sighed and looked at her friend.

"Yeah, but I know you, and now that you two are together, you're taking it just a little personal." Pepper shook her head.

"I told him from the beginning that during office hours we were still boss and employee, and after hours we could be what we wanted to be." She paused a moment. "He knows the rules, and so do I. And he was being the boss this morning, so I shouldn't expect anything less." Melina shook her head.

"Do you want to have lunch with me?" she asked. That suggestion actually made Pepper quirk up. "Come have lunch with me; spend an hour away from this place, and from him. You practically spend 24/7 with the man, I'm sure he can spare you for an hour." A grin grew on Pepper's face and she nodded her head.

"You have no idea how much I would love that," she said. Melina smiled at her friend.

"Then it's a date," Melina said and turned towards the door. Pepper walked with Melina and escorted her outside to her car.

* * *

Back in Hong Kong, The Mandarin sat alone in his throne room, forcefully tapping his fingers against the arm rest. He had a phone in his hand, and was twirling it between his fingers while thinking about something. He finally stopped twirling the phone, held it firmly in his hand, and started dialing a number. He placed it to his ear, and waited for the person to answer.

"Yes, Sir," he heard Iron Maiden say on the other line.

"He knows," he said harshly.

"Yes, Sir, then I shall make it quick."

"Maiden, we do not have time for fun and games right now."

"But Sir," she began.

"I need that ring, Maiden," he growled at her. "I needed it yesterday. Find it, and bring it at all costs. Do what you have to do, even if that means killing someone."

"Yes, Sir, understood." With that, he heard the other end of the line go silent, and he ended the call. He began twirling the phone between his fingers again while continuing to tap his fingers on the armrest.

* * *

About 12:30 Pepper came back into Tony's office with a few papers. "Mr. Stark, I need you sign these for me," she said while handing them to him. Tony took the papers and began to sign them where he was supposed to. He handed the papers back, and looked at her, noticing that she still wasn't looking him in the eye.

"I thought we were having lunch today," he said out of the blue. Pepper looked at him then. "We always have lunch together, why would today be any different?" he asked. Pepper rolled her eyes and turned to walk towards the door. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm talking to you," he spat at her while getting out of his chair following her. She stopped and turned around.

"Let me tell you something, Mr. Stark," she began while pointing a finger in his chest. "Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean that I have to spend every waking moment with you. Second, that was a private conversation and you had no right to listen to it."

"It's my building, therefore I have the right to listen to whatever conversation I damn well please," he said while crossing his arms.

"Third, I've known Melina longer than you and I haven't seen her every day for the past ten years like a certain someone, so excuse me if I want to take an hour to catch up with her." Pepper turned away from him and walked towards the door.

"What is your problem today?" he asked. Pepper turned back and glared at him.

"I don't appreciate it when my boss insults me, okay? And I don't appreciate the way he criticized how I ran his company the week he decided to have a mid-life crisis." She walked back up to him and got close to his face. "And I certainly don't appreciate my boyfriend drinking while he's working." She stepped back and adjusted her coat. "I'll be back for the meeting with Marketing. My phone is on silent, so don't bother calling me unless you're bleeding." She opened the door, then paused. "Actually, don't even call me then, because right now I'm of the mind set to let you bleed to death." She walked through the door and slammed it behind her. Tony jumped again, even though he saw it coming.

* * *

Pepper walked to her car in the garage. She opened the door and got in. She sat her purse in the seat beside her and looked out at the space in front of her. She closed her eyes and sighed. This day was dragging on and on and she wanted nothing more for it to be over with. She opened her eyes back up, and started her car. She looked up to the rear view mirror and adjusted it. When she lowered her hand from it, she saw a metal mask staring at her from the back seat. She gasped and before she could react, a white cloth was shoved over her nose and mouth. Her feet starting kicking in the floor board, and she reached back trying to get the person off of her, but all her nails came into contact with was metal. She tried so hard to keep conscience, but her eyes began drooping and her legs slowed their kicking, and her hands were no longer scratching at the metal armor. Her eyes finally closed completely, and her entire body went limp as a noodle in the front seat.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** OMG! I actually kept my word this time! LOL! Here is Chapter Twelve, read and enjoy people. Also, let me say this right now. Please be patient with me for the next two chapters. yesterday, i was thinking about it and realized that i was going to have to write both of them completely out so i could get the timing right because a lot is going to happen in the next chapters. I am still going to try for next Friday, but if i don't make it by then, you guys will get a double post the following friday. BTW, don't forget about my poll on my profile. It's still open and if you haven't voted please do! :D It's so close you guys have no idea :D Okay, read and review ;) Enjoy!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Twelve

Pepper slowly came to consciousness, but kept her eyes closed. Her head was killing her, and she tried to move her body, but found she couldn't. Her cheek was pressed against something hard and cold, and it felt great to be honest. She turned her head and pressed her forehead against it, feeling the cool surface soothing her head. It was then she realized that the hard surface she was pressing her head against felt like concrete. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was indeed concrete. Slowly, she rose off of the floor. It took a moment for her eye sight to adjust, and when it did, she saw she was alone. She looked around, hoping to be someplace she would recognize, however that wasn't the case at all. She saw boxes, lots of them; and the room itself was dark and gloomy and the smell of stale air and mildew invaded her senses. She was in a basement and by the looks of it, it had been abandoned a long time ago, meaning the chances of someone hearing her call for help were very unlikely. She looked down to her hands and saw that her wrists were bound with rope, as well as her knees and ankles. They were tight knots, and the person who tied her up obviously knew what they were doing. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was in big trouble this time, and the fact that her head was killing her wasn't making the situation any better.

'_How are you going to get yourself out of this one, Potts?'_ she asked herself as her head fell back to the wall behind her.

* * *

_Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean that I have to spend every waking moment with you._

Those words echoed through Tony's mind as he walked into his house. Their entire conversation had been repeating itself in his mind, and he couldn't turn it off and the harder he tried the more it rewound and replayed. He bolted to the stairs to the basement, and practically ran down them. He pressed his code in the electronic key pad and slung the door open. He was so mad right now he wanted to start throwing things, but he couldn't because that would mean either the cars or the suits would get hit, and he couldn't have that. He stopped in his tracks, and looked around; he needed something to distract him. He looked to the cars and snorted to himself.

'_Like they don't have the newest gadgets already,'_ he thought to himself. He looked to the suits and rolled his eyes. _'Yeah, they get upgrades every single week just about, so what else is there for me to do?'_ With that, Tony realized that he wasn't in the mood to be tinkering with any of the good stuff. He let out a long frustrated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair while slowly walking to the kitchenette. He placed his elbows on the counter and buried his face in his hands, roughly rubbing his eyes. He was tired, mentally and physically, but he didn't want to rest. No, he wasn't in the mood for relaxing. Even if he wanted to, it would take a lot to get him in the mood to loosen up. He looked up from his hands and turned his head slightly; the liquor cabinet came into view and without a second thought, Tony strutted up to the cabinet and opened it. He pulled out a clear glass bottle and a small glass, and carried it over to the couch where he flopped himself down, and poured himself a drink. After that first one, the second one came easily enough, as well as the third. He grabbed the remote while holding the glass in his hand and turned the television on. He skimmed the channels a moment, trying to find something interesting to hold his attention for a few minutes.

"_**Yes, it seems that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have officially come out, isn't that right, Ryan?"**_ asked Giulana. Tong stopped flipping channels to see what this latest edition of E! News had to say this time.

"_**It certainly has, Giulana. The two showed up Saturday evening at the celebration of Stark Industries Hong Kong holding hands, and according to anonymous reports, Tony planted a big smooch on her lips the moment they entered the hall. The couple hasn't been seen in public since, but since this is 'Tony Stark' we're talking about, I'm sure it'll be a matter of time before he's back on the market. I'll give him a month…"**_ Tony didn't wait to hear the rest of that sentence before he changed the channel. Just when he thought he had gotten her out of his head for the time being, their fight came flooding back to his mind.

_Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean that I have to spend every waking moment with you._

He turned the television off and threw the remote down to the floor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, scrolled to her number, and pressed the 'call' button. He knew she wouldn't answer, but he didn't care; he had some words to say and he was going to say them. He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp before he heard it go to her voice mail.

"_**You've reached Pepper Potts, Personal Assistant to Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries. I am unable to take you're call right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, I will get back to you as soon as possible." **_

"So, yeah, I expected you to _not_ pick up. It is near two o'clock anyway and that meeting should be starting soon, so you'll get this after you get out of the meeting in an hour or so. For your information, just because I _am_ your boyfriend doesn't mean that I expect you to spend every single waking moment with me, okay? I'm not one of those boyfriends that get jealous every single time his girlfriend goes out and hangs out with her friends and do whatever it is that girls decide to do together. I'm Tony Stark, I don't get jealous. You have always had the choice to do whatever you want to in your free time, and you still have that choice, even with us being together now. So I just wanted clarify that one comment because I don't care what you do in your free time. Okay? If you just want to spend business hours with me that's fine, I don't care. And if you want to spend your free time with someone else that's fine too, I don't care. I don't care one damn bit." Tony pressed the 'end call' button and tossed the phone onto the coffee table in front of him. He poured himself another drink and leaned back, relaxing back into the couch and propping his feet up onto the table in front of him.

'_I'm Tony Stark,'_ he thought while taking a drink. _'I always have the last word.'_

* * *

Pepper didn't know how long she had sat there with her eyes closed and her head tilted back against the wall. After what seemed like forever, she heard a door in the distance squeak open. She leaned her head forward and looked to the other side of the room where the noise came from.

"Good, you're awake. I was beginning to think that I gave you too much," she heard a female voice say to her. She couldn't see the person at all because of how dark it was down there, but she knew exactly who it was, she had recognized the mask in the mirror right before she had passed out. She heard footsteps against the concrete floor coming in her direction and said nothing as the person got closer to her. Even then, when the figure came into full view, she still said nothing. "Well, Miss Potts, I must say it is a surprise to officially meet you, especially under these circumstances," said the person in front of her.

"And I must say Iron Maiden, I was hoping I would never get to meet you, but I guess I was wishing for too much," Pepper said as smart as she could. The figure got closer and saw the woman still dressed head to toe in her metal armor, mask on her face and a hood covering the rest of her head.

"So you know who I am?" she asked. Pepper nodded her head.

"Sadly yes, I do know who you are."

"Are you scared?" Pepper genuinely laughed at that one.

"Please, I've seen scarier things than you," she said, still laughing. Iron Maiden just nodded her head.

"I'm sure you have, I don't doubt that considering you're the assistant of Iron Man himself; God only knows just what kind of dangers he's put you in, revealing himself like that," she said. Pepper just stared at the woman, watching her as she walked over to a wooden crate and sat down on it, and began to star back at Pepper. There was no way she was going to get a reaction out of her, especially with a comment like that; after all, she knew the truth. Only twice had she been put in real danger, and both of those times couldn't have been helped. Only once had she been put in danger because of him, and that was when he decided to race in Monaco without telling her, and she chose to come out on the racetrack anyway to get the suit to him.

"You kidnapped me to have a staring contest?" Pepper asked after a few minutes. It was Iron Maiden's turn to laugh.

"No, actually, Miss Potts. As much as I would love to stare you down, that was not the purpose. I brought you here because you have something that belongs to my master."

"Ooh," Pepper said slowly nodding her head. "Isn't it amazing that whenever something goes missing, they always send the lackey instead of coming to find it themselves?" Iron Maiden wasn't amused by Pepper's comment.

"Miss Potts, the seriousness of the situation is very critical. And you don't necessarily understand just how much trouble you are in with my master." Pepper blinked at her.

"You're right about that, because I don't know who your master is, and I definitely don't know what it is that's supposedly in my possession. I don't think I have it, and to be honest I think you're mistaken." Iron Maiden balled up her fist, and it began shaking. She wanted nothing more than to walk over there and strangle the red head, but she couldn't; she had to find out where the ring was. Iron Maiden breathed in, and slowly exhaled.

"I think you need some time to calm down, Miss Potts," she said as she stood up off the crate. "I'll give you a few minutes to think it over, and when I come back, you will tell me exactly where the ring is." Pepper's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Ring? What ring?" she asked. Iron Maiden held up her hand.

"I am done talking to you right now. You need a few minutes, and when I get back, I want my answer." Iron Maiden walked away from her. Her figure was lost in the dark, and it wasn't until she slammed the door behind her did Pepper know she was gone. Pepper sat there, more confused than ever.

'_What ring?'_ she thought. _'What is she talking about?'_

* * *

Tony laid across the couch with the back of his hand draped across his eyes. An empty scotch bottle laid on the floor, and a freshly opened one sat on the coffee table.

_That was a private conversation and you had no right to listen to it. _

That part of the conversation was playing back in Tony's head now. He let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. _'I stand by what I said. It's my building, my company; therefore I can listen to whatever conversation I want to,'_ he thought to himself.

'_Yeah, but you chose that moment to be a nosy boyfriend and listen to her conversation, thus causing her to get angry and possibly feel like her privacy had been violated,' _his conscience argued back to him.

'_Just exactly whose side are you on, anyway?'_ he yelled back to himself. He slung his arm over the arm rest and stared up to the ceiling as the next sentence of the conversation played back to him.

_I've known Melina longer than you and I haven't seen her every day for the past ten years like a certain someone, so excuse me if I want to take an hour to catch up with her._

That line made him fume. Was she really accusing him of being a control freak over her time? Oh no, he needed to clear this up right now. It had only been a few minutes since his last message, but he didn't care. He picked the phone back up, and dialed her number again. As expected, her voicemail message played again, and he patiently waited for it to end so he could begin his next message.

"First and foremost, let me say this. I reserve the right to say that it is my building therefore I can listen to whichever conversation I want to. That's one of the ways how I make sure my own employees aren't conspiring against me. Second, I am not a dictator when it comes to your time. If you want to take an hour to have lunch with your friend that's fine, I don't care. You can take two hours if you want to, I don't care. If you wanted to take a whole day, that would be fine, too; but don't you dare accuse me of being a leach, sucking the minutes of your life away as if your entire world revolved around me, because that's not true. You have every right to do whatever you want. Also, I didn't make you _not_ be in contact with your friends, okay? That's sounds like a personal problem to me, and if you had even bothered to keep in touch with your friends in the first place, you wouldn't _have_ to take an hour to catch up with her. Food for thought, Pepper."

Tony pressed the 'end call' button and threw the phone back on the table. He returned to his initial position, laying down on the couch with his arm draped over the armrest and staring up to the ceiling. He knew it was going to be at least another hour before he heard from her, but he was willing to wait. And if he had to, he would leave 100 more messages for her to get his point, which he was still trying to figure out.

* * *

Pepper sat there, trying her best to go over the events of the past week in her mind, trying to think of who or what had happened to make this crazy woman think that she had something that belonged to her master.

'_A ring? What the hell does that mean? There are many types of rings, so what is she talking about? This better be one good looking ring if she had to go so far as to kidnap me for it,'_ she thought to herself. Pepper didn't remember coming into contact with any rings, except for the one silver ring she wore on her right hand and that was it. She herself didn't own a lot of rings, she was never one to wear a lot of jewelry on her hands, so why would she be asking her about a ring? She kept going over the events in her mind, trying to find something, but nothing suspicious came to mind. She looked down to her hands and tried to loosen the rope by wiggling her wrists, but she barely had enough room to do that. It was a very tight loop, and it wasn't budging anytime soon.

She was getting nervous now. She didn't know what was going to happen to her, and quite frankly she really _didn't_ want to know. All she knew was that mask woman clad in metal spandex was telling her she had something not belonging to her. She would be back any moment now, demanding to know what Pepper did with it, and she didn't have an answer for her. As if on cue the door opened, and the slender figure walked back over to Pepper. Pepper straightened her back against the wall and held her head up. It didn't matter to her that her wrists, knees and ankles were tied together, but she wasn't going to be bullied by this woman, and she wasn't going to be a coward about it either.

"So, have you thought it over?" Iron Maiden asked her. Pepper snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, actually I have," she said.

"Alright then, what would you like to tell me?"

"I would like to tell you I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even know what this ring looks like and you're telling me to my face that I have it? You're delusional." Iron Maiden lunged forward, grabbed her throat, and hoisted her up against the wall. Pepper hands came up and grabbed her wrist, trying her best to pull her off, but Iron Maiden's grip was firm.

"Miss Potts, I do not wish to cause you harm, but I will if I have to." Pepper's face was turning red because of her air passage being blocked. "Do not make a fool out of me, I don't appreciate it when that happens." It sounded like Iron Maiden was gritting her teeth, but Pepper really didn't care what she was doing as long as she wasn't choking her. "If I have to torture the information out of you, I will. I do not wish to torture you, but I will; believe me when I say that action is not below me." With that, Iron Maiden let go of her and let her fall to the floor. Pepper fell on her left side and coughed as the air returned to her lungs.

"You're insane," she choked out. Iron Maiden's boot came into contact with Pepper's stomach a couple of times. Pepper felt like she was going to vomit. The pain in her stomach plus the loss of oxygen really wasn't a good combination.

"Miss Potts, I strongly advise you to refrain from using that word to describe me; makes me seem less professional if I'm described as a lunatic." Pepper snorted.

"Could've fooled me," she breathed out. Iron Maiden's boot came into contact with her stomach once more. The pain in her stomach intensified as she struggled to catch her breath.

"I'll give you a few minutes to recover. If you don't give me what I want, the pain in your stomach will be nothing compared to what I'll do to you next time I come down here." Pepper's face was still against the concrete when Iron Maiden walked back to the door. It opened with a squeak and closed with a slam. Pepper wanted to cry, really wanted to cry. Here she was, helpless, couldn't do a thing for herself, and was possibly going to die before the day was over with for a reason unknown to her.

'_Please, please let Tony realize something's wrong. Please let him realize I'm missing,'_ she silently prayed. She knew if anyone would notice something was wrong, he would. How soon he would, well, that was debatable, especially after their argument this morning.

* * *

Tony just sat there on his couch, staring into space. The freshly opened scotch bottle was sitting on the table, almost empty. It was well passed 3:30 and he knew that the meeting should have already ended. Pepper still hadn't called him, and he was just a little worried. Granted, he had been to meetings that took a long time to get through, but how long could a stupid Marketing meeting last. He was angry more so than worried.

'_She should've called by now,'_ he thought to himself. _'She's ignoring me on purpose, she's making me suffer.'_ He picked up his phone, ready to call her again, but the last part of their fight played back in his mind.

_I don't appreciate it when my boss insults me, okay? And I don't appreciate the way he criticized how I ran his company the week he decided to have a mid-life crisis._

'_Well, it's not my fault you can't take constructive criticism, Pepper,' _he thought to himself.

_And I certainly don't appreciate my boyfriend drinking while he's working. _Tony shrugged that comment off as he picked up the bottle and took a quick drink.

'_I've been drinking on the job for years, if you can't handle that, well then it's not my problem.' _

_My phone is on silent, so don't bother calling me unless you're bleeding. Actually, don't even call me then, because right now I'm of the mind set to let you bleed to death._ As those particular words repeated in his head, the grip on his phone tightened. Eventually, his grip did loosen enough to where he was able to dial her number again. He was angrier than ever. He placed the phone to his ear, and it began ringing. And just like twice before, her voice mail message started. That made him even angrier, and he knew for a fact that meeting should've been over a long time ago.

'_This proves it, she's ignoring me. We'll see just how much she likes my newest message,'_ he thought as he waited for the voicemail message to end. Once it ended, Tony began his third message that day.

"So you're still not picking up your phone, huh? Well, that's quite alright, Pepper, really. I mean, after all you were so mad at me you said that you would let me bleed to death. It's not like I don't have a heart or something, like I'm not a human being. All I am to you is a heartless son of a bitch who thinks of no one else except himself, and his cars, his suits, and his money, that's all I am to the world and you've made it clear that's all I am to you. And yes, if you must know, I am drunk, but I don't care. I don't care what you think right now, because you didn't care that I would bleed to death. So there you are, Pepper, I hope you're happy. You've finally managed to break me, where as no else could. And I hope that who or whatever you're doing brings you pleasure. You won't have to worry about me calling you again, because this will be that last time I call you tonight. Hell, it'll probably be the last time I call you for a little while; and to show you the same courtesy you've shown me, I'm not sure I'll answer you if you finally decide to call me back. Right now, I'm not so sure I would answer you if you were right here standing in front of me. Contrary to belief I do have feelings, Pepper, and I do hope you're happy."

With that, Tony ended the call, tossed the phone back onto the table, and instead of falling back onto the couch, he grabbed the almost empty scotch bottle in front of him. He brought the bottle up to his mouth, leaning his head back for the contents to easily slide back into his mouth. He continued to lean back, until he was resting his head on the back of the couch. He took the bottle away from his mouth, and held it in his hand right beside his thigh. He closed his eyes, and saw her face behind his eyelids lids. He so desperately wanted to stop thinking about her right now, more than anything. Not ten seconds later, his phone began ringing. His eyes shot open, and he bolted forward and grabbed his phone. He looked at the caller id; it wasn't her, much to his disappointment. He rolled his eyes and hesitantly answered the call.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Ah yes, Mr. Stark," said a female on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, who is this?" he asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose again, feeling the start of a headache coming on.

"This is Susan Costa from Marketing, how are you today?" He sighed and his hand fell from his nose.

"Look lady, I'm not in the mood to deal with marketing ideas for the company so could you please tell me what this is all about?" he asked, obviously letting his impatience show through. Ms. Costa cleared her throat before continuing.

"Yes, I was just wondering what happened to you at the meeting today?" she asked. Tony grunted.

"I sent my assistant Pepper Potts. I'm pretty sure you've seen her around the building some time or another, so there was no reason for me to be there." There was a pause on the other side of the line. "Are you still there?"

"Oh yes, I'm still here. But Sir, I have to say that Miss Potts was nowhere to be seen at that meeting today." Tony straightened up once he heard those words.

"What?" he asked, not believing what he had just heard.

"Yes Sir, I know Miss Potts personally, and she was not at that meeting." That hit Tony just like a slap in the face. His entire body went limp, and the hand holding the phone to his ear, fell down, and rested on his leg. "Hello? Mr. Stark, are you still there?" he heard her ask, but couldn't register long enough to answer her back. "I think we got cut off," he heard her say before the line went silent. He stared off into space for a few moments, still trying to register what the woman had said.

'_Something's not right,' _Tony thought as his breathing began to accelerate. _'She's never missed a meeting. As long as I've known the woman, she's never missed a meeting. Something's wrong, seriously wrong.'_ He picked his phone back up and quickly dialed her number. _'Please pick up, please pick up,'_ he thought as it rang. Once again, her voicemail message started. It felt as if something grabbed a hold if his heart and began squeezing it. This wasn't good, and Tony knew it.

"Pepper," he began his message with a shaky voice. "Do me a favor and don't pay any attention to the previous messages I left on your phone. I wasn't thinking straight, and I just got a call from someone in Marketing telling me that you weren't at the meeting." Tony paused a moment to regain his composure. "That is so unlike you. You haven't missed a meeting in ten years. So, please, please, call me when you get this. I'm really worried about you." He took the phone from his ear and started to press the button to end the call, but he quickly put the phone back up to his ear.

"I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, and I know that I can be a real jerk sometimes, but I would be lost if you decided to leave me. That thought scares me so much I hate thinking about it. I don't deserve you, I never have, but when it comes to you, I get very jealous. Men, women, you name it. If there's one thing on the planet I can't stand, it's sharing you." He snorted a little. "Which is probably why I had you work so much over the years; I wanted your universe to revolve around me. That right there should be proof enough of how selfish I am." His voice broke as he finished that sentence. He bowed his head and wiped the corners of his eyes. "I didn't mean to leave you alone on the balcony that night. I wanted to come back, really I did. And I wanted to tell you that I was dying, but I was too scared to. I didn't want you to worry, plus I felt that if I had told you it would've been more real, if that makes any sense. Please call me when you get this." With that, Tony covered his eyes with his hand and ended his call.

* * *

Pepper sat there staring off into space. She rubbed her leg where Iron Maiden had dropped her earlier; she wouldn't be surprised to find a bruise there later, that is if she was going to have a later. She couldn't think like that; she should be trying to figure out a way out of this predicament, but nothing was coming to her mind. She looked down to her slacks, upset that yet another suit had been ruined. She began wiping them off, as if that were going to help her appearance any; for Pete's sake she was tied up in an abandoned basement. She let out a long frustrated sigh and rested her hands on her leg. She looked down to her right side, and noticed it was tenting a little. She ran her hands over her side and felt something very hard in her pocket. Her heart began beating rapidly as she struggled to get one of her hands into her pocket.

'_Please, oh please let it be what I think it is,'_ she thought as her finger tips hit smooth plastic. She bent her legs, and the object slid closer to her fingers, making it easier to grab. She slowly pulled the object out of her pocket, and when she gazed upon her phone, she wanted to cry tears of joy. _'Thank you,'_ she silently prayed as she unlocked it. It was still on silent, and she had a signal and battery life left. She had several messages, but now wasn't the time to be checking those. She kept her legs bent up, concealing the phone just in case Iron Maiden came in at any moment. Frantically, she opened up a new text message box and typed her message, hoping and praying that Tony was near his phone.

* * *

Tony sat there on the couch with his head down in his hands, worried out of his mind. His phone began beeping, and he slowly picked it off the ground, not expecting the message that was about to greet him. As he read it, he immediately felt sick to his stomach.

**TONY I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY IRON MAIDEN!**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey everybody, I'm back! *big grin* So here is Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen is on it's way, but I want to see how you guys like this one before I post it. Depending on the review count, I'll either post it tomorrow or Sunday, haven't made up my mind yet on that one, so we'll see. Anyway, I don't own it, blah blah blah. Read and review!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Thirteen

It took Tony about ten seconds after he read those words to actually comprehend them. The nauseated feeling in his stomach grew worse, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was now more worried than ever, all of the contents on his stomach would've come back up where he sat. As quickly as his fingers could type, he responded to her message.

**ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DOES SHE WANT? DO YOU KNOW WHERE**** YOU ARE?**

****

**

* * *

**

Pepper sat there, anxiously waiting for his reply. If he didn't answer, she would have to try Rhodey, or the authorities. At that moment, she received a new text message. She sighed in relief when she saw it was from Tony.

**I'M OKAY FOR NOW. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO ANSWER THAT SHE MAY BE BACK ANY MOMENT. RIGHT NOW I'M IN A BASEMENT IN WHAT I'M ASSUMING IS AN ABANDONED BUILDING. PLEASE HURRY TONY!**

****

**

* * *

**

"I'm not sure, Master," Iron Maiden said over the phone. "I've gone in there twice, and both times she has claimed to not know anything about the ring."

"Of course she'll say that, Maiden," The Mandarin said through the phone. "She's obviously protecting it, so of course she would act dumb about it. Has she made any indication of Iron Man coming to find her?"

"No, Sire. And if she hasn't found her phone by now she's a moron," Iron Maiden said in annoyance. She heard her master snicker over the phone.

"Suddenly taking back the credit you gave her, huh Maiden?" She cleared her throat.

"I'm going to try again with her."

"Good, and if she doesn't cooperate, she'll have me to deal with. I'll be there shortly," he said.

"Yes sir." With that, Iron Maiden hung up the phone, and walked back down the hallway where Pepper was being held.

* * *

Tony jumped to his feet, but not after stumbling off the couch, and pulling himself off the floor by the armrest. He walked as straight as he could to his computer, and fell sideways in his chair. "Jarvis," Tony began, with his speech slightly slurring. "Is the GPS tracker in Miss Potts phone still functioning?" he asked the A.I.

"Yes Sir, it is," Jarvis replied.

"Are you attempting to locate it?" Tony asked, getting frustrated.

"Would you like me to, sir?"

"What the hell do you think I'm asking you for?" he yelled back to the A.I.

"Sir, I strongly suggest you try to keep your blood pressure down considering the amount of alcohol you have consumed within the past two hours."

"Jarvis, Pepper has been kidnapped. I don't have time for you to lecture me about my health," Tony spat back at him.

"Then it would be best for me to locate Miss Potts' phone, yes?"

"Duh! I don't know why you haven't found it yet!" Tony was, obviously, not happy with the computer right now. Tony began typing on his computer, and some maps appeared on the screen.

"It appears she is still on the west coast, Sir," Jarvis said after a moment or two.

"That doesn't tell me anything, Jarvis," Tony spat at him. "Do you know how long the west coast is?"

"Sir, she is still in Los Angeles County," Jarvis said, ignoring Tony's last comment.

"That's better, but I need to know more specifically, Jarvis," Tony said, getting up out of his chair, stripping out of his clothes and putting on the neoprene under suit.

"Sir, may I ask what exactly are you doing?" Jarvis asked him.

"Jarvis, I gave you a task to do; you need to be doing it right now," Tony said while stepping onto the platform and letting the robots assemble the suit on him.

"Sir, with all due respect, you are in no condition to be operating the suit."

"I don't want to hear it Jarvis. You're supposed to be locating Miss Potts, not worrying over me," Tony said, trying his best to hold his balance while the suit came together on his body.

"Sir, it will be at least sixty more seconds before I know Miss Potts' exact location," Jarvis replied.

"She may not have sixty more seconds, Jarvis!" Tony screamed at the A.I. The force of Tony's excitement caused him to lose his balance and almost fall off the platform.

"Sir, I am searching as fast as I can," Jarvis said defending himself.

"Then in that case, let me know when you've found her." The helmet assembled on Tony's head, and not five seconds later, he zoomed out of the garage, heading towards downtown Los Angeles.

"Sir, I should have her exact location in less than thirty seconds," replied Jarvis. "But my sensors indicate that you are heading in the right direction."

"Good, let me know the moment you have her exact coordinates," he said, racing towards the city.

* * *

Pepper heard the doorknob turning and quickly put her phone back in her pocket. She didn't want to risk Iron Maiden seeing it after all this time, especially after she had just made contact with Tony. She straightened her back up against the wall and watched as she walked back over to her. She had something in her hand; she kept tossing it up in the air, and down it would fall back into her hand. Pepper couldn't tell what it was, but as she got closer she finally realized it was an apple she was tossing in the air.

Pepper rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe this. Was Iron Maiden suddenly on feeding duty now? She grabbed a crate, and pulled it over to where Pepper was sitting. She situated the crate right in front of her, and sat down on it. Much to Pepper's amusement, she then pulled out a knife and began cutting it; watching this woman, who was supposed to be a tough villainess, was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen.

"Miss Potts, do you have any idea why they call me 'Iron Maiden'?" she asked Pepper. Pepper bit her lips, desperately not trying to laugh as she looked the woman up and down. Eventually she just shook her head, and thought about her next answer.

"Um, because of the suit you're wearing?" Iron Maiden smirked and held a piece of cut apple out for Pepper to take. "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"It's not poisoned," she said sweetly. "I don't want you dying of starvation."

"You know, I don't feel comfortable with you feeding me like this."

"I said take it," Iron Maiden commanded forcefully. Pepper grunted, and took the piece between her lips, slowly bringing it into her mouth and chewing it slowly, ready to spit it out if there was a funny taste to it. "They call me 'Iron Maiden' because I have a strong will."

"Really?" Pepper asked. _'Could've fooled me,'_ she thought, not daring to say it aloud, knowing the bruises up and down her side would grow bigger because of the comment.

"Yes, really," she said. "From the time I was a small child, I had a will like that," she began to explain as she held out another piece of cut apple for Pepper to take. She took it, and chewed it just as slowly as the first while tuning out her speech.

'_Oh my God, she's monologuing. I can't believe this chick is forcing me to listen to her life story,'_ Pepper thought. Her focus eventually shifted down to Iron Maiden cutting the apple, and became hypnotized by it. _'What if…'_ she began to think. She looked up to Iron Maiden, who was still focused on her speech and cutting the apple, then looked back down to the knife being used to cut the apple. Pepper quickly swallowed the remnants of apple in her mouth. _'I guess I'm gonna have to take another one for the team,'_ she thought to herself, and couldn't believe what she was about to do.

As quickly as she could, Pepper hoisted her legs up and kicked both the apple and the knife out of Iron Maiden's hands. She jumped back in surprise and Pepper kicked the crate out from under her, making Iron Maiden fall down to the floor. Pepper acted quickly, and shifted her weight as if moving to get away. Iron Maiden began laughing, and picked herself up off of the floor. She dusted herself off, and slowly walked over to her. Pepper froze where she was on the floor. She knew what was going to happen next wasn't going to be pretty.

"Please tell me you weren't actually thinking you were going to escape tied up like that," she heard Iron Maiden say, still laughing as she walked up behind her. Pepper smirked, and turned her head to look at her.

"I thought I would give it my best shot," she said proudly. With that, Iron Maiden delivered a swift blow to Pepper's side. Pepper gritted her teeth, feeling the pain engulf her side once again.

"It's a shame, Miss Potts. With all the rumors of your reputation, you're known as being a smart and witty woman. You have the 'witty' part down, but I'm not so sure about the 'smart' part." With that, Iron Maiden turned on her heel and left the room.

Pepper waited until she heard the door close, and turned her head to make sure she was out of the room. She sighed in relief, and slowly lifted her head up. She looked down and saw the knife that Iron Maiden had been using to cut the apple. She leaned back down, picked it up with her mouth, and slowly sat back up to begin cutting the rope that bound her wrists together.

It took a little time, considering cutting rope with your mouth wasn't necessarily easy; but eventually the rope began to break. Pepper kept sawing, determined to get free and get out of there. Each strand of the rope cut in two, and once she got down to the last strand, it cut down the middle with ease. At last her wrists were free; she shook them out and flexed her fingers, trying to get the feeling back in them. She took the knife out of her mouth, and immediately began cutting the rope that bound her knees. That took a little less time, as well as the rope around her ankles.

Once her legs were finally free, she sighed in relief, and slowly stood up off the floor. Her legs shook a little, and she hissed as the tingling feeling finally began to go away. She walked over to the window, and stepped up on a crate to see if she could see anything. She saw nothing but overgrown grass, making her theory about being in an abandoned building more plausible. She sighed heavily and jumped down from the crate. She turned around and looked at the door, realizing that Iron Maiden would be back at any second.

She looked around quickly, trying to find something long and solid, anything to use as a weapon against that woman. She would've used her shoe because let's face it, you can kill a man with stiletto heels, however they were one of her favorite pairs and she really didn't want to get blood on them. She looked around some more, and found an old broom handle, but that thing was years old, and wasn't able to serve as a sturdy weapon. Nervously, she walked over to the door and stood behind it waiting patiently for Iron Maiden to return.

* * *

Tony arrived to downtown Los Angeles when he finally heard from Jarvis.

"Sir, I have Miss Potts' coordinates," the AI said.

"It's about time. Where is she?" Tony asked, ready to land anywhere he needed to.

"Uh, sir, you're going to have to shift your direction forty-five degrees to the west, and travel fifteen miles outside of the city," Jarvis explained.

"Jarvis, cut the crap and tell me where she is," Tony commanded through gritted teeth.

"Sir, Miss Potts coordinates indicate that she is located in an old Hammer Industries building outside of the city." Tony's eyes widened and it took all his strength to keep the suit flying in the air. He shifted his course, and accelerated the suit to as fast it could go without him losing control.

"Jarvis, remind me to talk to Director Fury about getting all of Hammer's contact records subpoenaed," Tony said, totally focused on his path.

"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied.

"Get me on the phone with Rhodey," Tony commanded. Rhodey's picture appeared in front of him as the phone began to ring.

"Hello, Tony," he heard Rhodey say.

"Rhodey, listen, Pepper's been kidnapped," Tony explained to him.

"What?" Rhodey exclaimed.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna need your help. All I know is that Iron Maiden is there, and as far as I know no one else is, but we both know what happened the last time I decided to crash a party."

"I'm on my way, man. Where is she?"

"That's the best part about this whole thing, she's being held in the old Hammer Industries branch outside of the city." Tony heard Rhodey pause for a moment.

"Please tell me you're joking about that one," Rhodey begged, not believing this.

"I wish I was, Rhodey, trust me," Tony replied.

"I'm coming, Tony. I'll be there shortly."

"Rhodey, hurry!"

* * *

Pepper's heart began to race the moment she heard footsteps outside the door. _'This is it,'_ she thought as she readied herself. The doorknob turned, and the door swung open. The moment she saw Iron Maiden's silhouette she kicked up, her foot thrusting Iron Maiden's head back, and knocking her mask off; however the light in the background prevented Pepper from seeing her face. Pepper then thrusted her palm up into her face, coming into contact with her nose and hopefully breaking it.

She fell to the floor, clutching her face, and Pepper bolted out the door, running as fast as she could to find the exit or another place to hide. She came to some stairs and ran up them. At the top of those stairs were a set of double doors. Pepper ran to them and pulled as hard as she could, however they were bolted closed and weren't opening anytime soon. Giving up on that set, she turned down the hallway to continue her search for a set of doors that would open.

Every single set of doors she came to were bolted shut. _'Were they honestly worried that much about vandalism?'_ she asked herself. She came to some stairs and started climbing them. When she came to the top of the floor, she pulled out her phone while searching for the next set of stairs. She scrolled down to the designated number, and began dialing it. "Come on, come on, please pick up," she said out loud, finding the next set of stairs and beginning to climb them.

* * *

Tony was still about five miles away when he got the call from Pepper.

"Pepper! Are you there?" he exclaimed after answering the call.

"Oh my God, Tony, where are you?" she asked him, coming to the next floor.

"I'm on my way, were you able to get away?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm still in the building. Every single door on the bottom floor was bolted shut," she explained.

"Can you make it to the roof?"

"That's where I'm headed right now," she said, coming to yet another set of stairs.

"Good, make it to the top and I'll fly in to pick you up. I'll be there shortly." With that they both hung up; Pepper started running faster up the stairs, and Tony accelerated the suit.

* * *

Back down in the basement, blood gushed out of her nose as she reached for her mask. Her breathing was hard and deep, and her entire body shook with rage. _'No one gets a hit on me and gets away with it,'_ she thought as she wiped her nose and replaced the mask in its designated position. She got up slowly, her head spinning as she did so, and turned to quickly walk out of the basement. _'Ring or no ring, that bitch is going down.'_

* * *

Finally, the branch came into view for Tony. He sighed in relief and continued on, but the sensors of the suit picked up on something in the distance flying straight at him. _'I must be drunker than I thought,'_ he thought to himself while blinking his eyes, trying to regain focus.

"Jarvis, can you see that?" he asked.

"Sir, if I were you, I would brace for impact," Jarvis replied dryly.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked him. "That doesn't look like anything…" At that moment the object came into focus, and Tony just gazed at it in shock. "Jarvis, are you getting this?"

"Sir, I really must suggest that you brace for impact," the AI repeated; he wasn't kidding either. Tony couldn't react quickly enough before the object collided with him, sending him straight to the ground. Tony landed with a loud thud, his body making an imprint in the dirt he landed in. Tony eyes tightly shut as he hissed in pain.

"Ow," he said, coughing a little. The impact drew up so much dust Tony couldn't see the sky above him. He slowly lifted his torso out of the hole and rolled his head from side to side. "Definitely gonna be sore in the morning," he said to himself, and tried to lift himself up out of the hole. He braced his hands on either side of himself and tried to push up, but something heavy pressed down on his stomach, forcing him back into the ground causing Tony's head to collide with the ground again. He coughed a couple of times, and as the dust settled down around him, he was able to make out the figure standing above him.

This suit was heavily plated, and it mimicked the style of ancient Chinese armor. It was black from the boots all the way up to the helmet; the toes of the boots were pointed, so if he kicked someone it would definitely leave a mark; the fingers of his gauntlets had claws attached to the end; and his helmet had two crooked horns sticking out of the top, as well as two glowing red eyes staring down at him. Tony's gaze shifted down from the helmet down to the bright circle in the middle of the chest piece. Whoever was in the suit had also gotten a hold of the arc technology; and if it was anything like it was last time, this wasn't going to be good.

"So," Tony began nonchalantly. "To whom do I owe this grand honor to?" he asked sarcastically. He then heard the suit laugh.

"The Mandarin," the suit said in a deep voice. Tony snorted.

"Really? What kind of Mandarin because there's a lot of Mandarins out there: like the Mandarin language, Mandarin oranges, Mandarin chicken…" Tony didn't get to finish his list. The Mandarin bent down, picked him up, and threw him across the field of over-grown grass. Tony yelled as his arms and legs waved in the air, then landed back to the ground with a loud thud. "Oh god, ok, was not expecting that," Tony mumbled as got up off the ground as quickly as he could. He wobbled a little, trying to balance himself on his feet. He turned and saw the Mandarin hovering in the air, waiting for him. His eyebrows narrowed in anger and Tony flew into the air. "You wanna dance? Then let's dance."

Tony flew straight at the Mandarin, and ran right into him, ramming him just like he had done a few minutes ago. That didn't seem to faze the Mandarin at all because once he regained his center, he flew straight back to Tony, turning and kicking him with both of his feet. Once again Tony struggled to regain his bearing. _'Fighting and scotch definitely do not mix,'_ he thought to himself.

"Come on and fight, _Iron Man_!" The Mandarin called to him, taunting him. Tony's anger began to boil over, and flew right back to him, grabbing him at the waist, while delivering a couple of punches to his sides.

* * *

Pepper was almost to the top floor when she heard the commotion outside. She quickly walked over to a window and saw Iron Man fighting with scarier looking version of the suit. _'What is going on now?'_ she asked herself. She watched in horror for a few seconds as Iron Man fought this new villain. For some reason, Iron Man wasn't fighting as well as he usually did and his reflexes seemed delayed, a lot delayed. _'What in the whole is wrong with him?'_ she asked herself again, but didn't have time to think about the reason because she felt something hard come into contact with her temple. The force of the blow was so strong it sent her crashing face first to the floor.

She blinked a couple of times, fighting disorientation, and brought her hand up to rub where she was hit. She felt something and looked at her finger tips; she was bleeding. With a loud grunt she braced her hands on her sides and tried to push up, but she felt a foot press into her back, forcing her back to the floor.

"You know, the elevators shafts are still in good condition. Good enough to travel in between floors, instead of wasting precious energy on climbing the stairs," Iron Maiden said to her. Pepper had to laugh at that.

"Good to know. How's your nose by the way?" Pepper asked her. Iron Maiden then lifted her foot to kick Pepper's side again, but as her foot came down Pepper shifted and grabbed her foot, pulling her down to the ground and using both her feet to kick her backwards. Pepper swung her feet down and jumped up, quickly turning around to ready herself for whatever Iron Maiden was about to dish out to her.

Iron Maiden ran back to her and thrusted her fist forward, ready to punch her lights out. Pepper shifted her weight and dodged the punch. Iron Maiden threw another one, and Pepper again dodged it. While defending herself, Pepper realized something. Iron Maiden was covered head to toe in metal armor, and what did she have on? The suit she went in to work with this morning. Pepper knew the odds were against her, but she wasn't about to give up; this was her life she was defending, and she wasn't about to go down without a fight.

'_Think now!'_ she yelled at herself. _'There are always kinks in the armor, you just have to find them.'_ The more Iron Maiden would throw at her the more Pepper would shield herself against, and the disorientation wasn't making it easy. For a few more seconds, she was able to protect herself, however she miscalculated and Iron Maiden sent her crashing down to the floor again.

"You know," Iron Maiden began. "You're tough. Believe it or not you actually lasted longer than Black Widow. Poor girl didn't stand a chance." Iron Maiden walked over beside Pepper, and kneeled down beside her. Pepper didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. She was out of breath and her head was killing her. "I'm sure with the proper training you would've been a worthy opponent, but you're an amateur compared to me. So, why don't you just stick with what you do best: being a bitter business woman keeping the business a float for your spoiled and selfish rusting tin can of a boss."

Had Pepper been able to move she would've shown her just how amateur she was, but she couldn't. She was unable to move, at all. She felt Iron Maiden's hands on her, lifting her up off the ground. Iron Maiden grabbed her by the arms, and hoisted her up in the air. Pepper heard her sigh and watched her shake her head.

"Such a pity, all that wasted beauty." With that, Iron Maiden thrusted Pepper back. Pepper felt something collide with her back as she heard glass shattering. Then she realized what she felt on her back was window glass. She saw Iron Maiden slip farther and farther away from her, until she realized that she was falling.

* * *

Tony knelt on the ground, trying to catch his breath for a moment.

"Had enough?" the Mandarin asked him. Tony laughed.

"Not even close," he said, then lifted the gauntlets and fired at him. The Mandarin took off before he was hit, and Tony chased after him. Once he was close to him, Tony heard glass breaking in the distance and turned to see what it was, only to see Pepper falling out of a window on the top floor. "Pepper!" he screamed, starting to go after her, but the Mandarin grabbed him and pinned him to where he couldn't move. "Let me go! Now!" Tony screamed at him.

"Oh no, you get to watch her die," the Mandarin growled at him. Tony struggled and struggled trying to get loose from his grip.

"Flares!" Tony commanded, and multiple flares were discharged out of his suit, blinding the Mandarin causing his grip on Tony to loosen. Tony kicked him back, and then began racing towards Pepper, but the Mandarin caught up to him and gripped him tighter.

"You're next after she goes," the Mandarin said to him again. Tony watched in horror as she kept falling.

* * *

Pepper was scared. All she knew was that she was about to die after being thrown out a window. She closed her eyes and covered her face, not wanting to watch as her death quickly approached her. But then she felt herself being jerked up, and two bulky mechanical arms hoisted her up.

"I got you!" she heard the person say. She opened her eyes and saw the War Machine mask looking at her.

"Rhodey!" she said, tears of joy forming in her eyes.

* * *

Both Iron Man and the Mandarin watched as War Machine swooped in and saved Pepper.

"No!" screamed the Mandarin. Tony thrusted his head back, and collided it with the Mandarin's head. The Mandarin's grip around him broke, but Tony became just as dizzy as he was and thought that maybe the head butt wasn't such a good idea. The Mandarin's anger grew, and flew straight at Iron Man. Tony didn't react quick enough, and the Mandarin grabbed him, and pushed him down to the ground, not stopping until he buried Iron Man six feet under.

* * *

War Machine flew down to the ground and took Pepper over to where the ambulance was waiting for them. They heard a loud bang and watched as a cloud of dirt engulfed the air, then watched as the person who Iron Man had been fighting flew off into the distance.

"Tony!" Pepper screamed, trying to get away from Rhodey to go over to him.

"Pepper stop! These people need to take you to the hospital," Rhodey said, keeping a firm grip on her.

"No, I'm fine. Let me go, I need to see if he's okay!" She almost screamed at him, her concern for Tony overshadowing any concerns for her well being.

"Pepper! You need to go to the hospital!" Rhodey said more forcefully, practically dragging her to the ambulance.

"No I don't! Tony!" She screamed as Rhodey pushed her into the ambulance, and two EMT personal grabbed her to hold her in the ambulance as the doors shut and took off.

Rhodey sighed as he watched it take off towards the city. He had alerted the authorities as he made his way over here, and he was glad he did. He watched as several police officers unbolted the doors and rushed in the building to see if they could find anything. He turned and hurriedly flew over to the spot where Iron Man was thrown down to. From the air he saw the lifeless form of the Iron Man suit and landed right beside it.

"Tony!" Rhodey called to him while kneeling beside him. "Tony! Talk to me, are you okay?" Rhodey grabbed him and pulled him out of the hole that was made around him.

"Oh God, Rhodey?" he heard Tony say. Rhodey smiled, glad to hear that his friend was still alive.

"Oh man, are you okay?" he asked him, helping him to his feet. Tony then grabbed his arms forcefully.

"Where's Pepper?" he asked worriedly. Rhodey sighed.

"She's fine, Tony. She's on her way to the hospital in an ambulance." Tony let out a shaky breath and let go of Rhodey. "Tony, you need to go to the hospital too." Rhodey tried to grab him, but Tony was already airborne before he could do anything. "Tony!" Rhodey called to him, but he wasn't listening.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First off, let me apologize to you guys. This chapter was supposed to have gone up last night, however ff (dot) net was in the middle of upgrades and wouldn't let me log on, I was SO pissed you guys have no idea. Second thing, Sorry about the length, this one wound up being longer than I initially planned, but it was necessary. :D Anyway, read and enjoy!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Fourteen

Tony stood on the platform and let the robots disassemble the suit. He was sore in certain areas of his body, so certain movements they made caused him to hiss in pain. The fight with the Mandarin was his first real defeat. He had never lost a battle as badly as he had today, and it depressed him to no end; but that wasn't the only thing that depressed him. Once the suit was completely off of him, he stumbled off the platform and dragged himself over to the couch and plopped himself down on it. He placed his head in his hands, rubbing it, trying to ease the headache that was forming.

He thought about the battle again. He had never fought like that; his moves had been sloppy, and he knew it. He kept going over the fight in his mind, thinking about what he could've done differently. He thought about the moves he should've seen coming, and telling himself that he was a much better fighter than that. But then the image of Pepper falling out of that window, straight down to the ground starting playing in his mind. He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head, trying hard to discard the memory; but it kept replaying in his mind.

'_I couldn't save her,'_ he thought. He had watched in horror as she almost plummeted to the ground. Thank God he had called Rhodey, otherwise she would've…. He shook his head violently. _'I couldn't save her,'_ he thought again. That little piece of reality hit him hard, and tears began streaming down his cheeks. _'I couldn't save her period,'_ he thought again. _'She would've died because of me.'_ He sat there for about five minutes just holding his head in his hands, letting the sobs work out of his system.

Eventually he was able to calm down enough to lay down on the couch. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. He was able to relax a little, but his mind wasn't letting him. The fight began replaying in his mind, as well as Pepper falling out of the window. He grunted loudly and shot off the couch, walking on wobbly legs over to his desk. He pulled open all of the drawers, obviously looking for something. He rummaged through the contents, and found another bottle of Eszopiclone. He quickly opened the bottle and pulled out two.

"Sir, what are you doing?" Jarvis asked him. Tony sighed, frustrated.

"Jarvis, I need to get some sleep," he replied.

"Sir, your blood alcohol level is still too high…"

"Mute!" Tony commanded. He really wasn't in the mood right now; all he wanted was to get some rest. He looked at the two pills in his palm, then popped them into his mouth, swallowing them without water. He replaced the cap on the pill bottle and just laid it on top of his desk. He walked back over to the couch, and looked down at himself, realizing he was still wearing the neoprene under suit. He didn't want to sleep in it so he unzipped it and took it off. Wearing only his boxers he laid on his back, and once again tried to relax. His body went limp on the couch, and finally his mind shut down. It was then Tony fell asleep.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Pepper sighed in frustration. Here she was lying in a hospital bed, clearly okay, but the doctors felt compelled to run tests to make sure she was indeed healthy. She had gotten her phone out, and began checking the messages. She knew she was going to be sitting here awhile, so she might as well catch up on her work. There was a grand total of twelve messages on her phone, and began playing them one at a time. The first two were from clients, and she made notes to get back in contact with them. The next message however wasn't business related at all. It was Tony.

As she listened to the beginning of his message she could tell something had him ticked off, and she came to realize just what it was as the message continued to play. She thought the first part of the message was funny, hearing him rattle on about how he wasn't jealous. _'Well, clearly Tony you are,'_ she thought as she listened to it.

_You have always had the choice to do whatever you want to in your free time, and you still have that choice, even with us being together now._

'_Really? Why don't I take you back ten years, Stark, and see just how much free time I've had,'_ she thought, that comment of his making her angry. The message ended, and she just shook it off. He was acting like a spoiled brat, so that's how she would take it. The next messages were from the Marketing department, wanting to know where she was and if she and Mr. Stark would be attending the meeting today. Pepper rolled her eyes and just deleted those messages; like she really wanted to be thinking about Marketing right now. She went to the next message and was surprised that it was another one from Tony.

She rolled her eyes when she heard the very first sentence out of his mouth. _'Oh, whatever to the conspiring employees, Tony,'_ she thought, sighing that she had to sit through another one of his rants. _'Once again, do we need to go over the last ten years?'_ she thought as she heard him compare himself to a leach.

_Also, I didn't make you not be in contact with your friends, okay? That's sounds like a personal problem to me, and if you had even bothered to keep in touch with your friends in the first place, you wouldn't have to take an hour to catch up with her. Food for thought, Pepper._

Pepper clenched her jaw shut, and held her phone tightly in her hand. She wanted nothing more than to shove it up his ass, but that would mean she would have to get a new phone, plus it would cause him physical harm; but by the tone of that last comment he made, she didn't mind inflicting it herself. She shook her head and continued to check her messages. There were more from various departments, and by this point she really could care less. She sighed and made the notes accordingly. She moved on to the next message and honestly was not surprised to hear that it was Tony again. _'What does he have to say this time?'_

She heard him rattle on while rolling her eyes. _'I was kidnapped you asshole, that's why I wasn't answering,'_ she thought, wanting desperately to scream that to him. _'And I have never called you heartless!'_ she thought again.

_And yes, if you must know, I am drunk, but I don't care. I don't care what you think right now, because you didn't care that I would bleed to death._

She was angry, she was passed the point of angry; boiling and steaming was more like it. _'So that's why you got your ass kicked; well, can't say you didn't deserve it,'_ she thought, all her pity for him going out the window. She listened to the rest of the message in disgust. When it was finally over she deleted it, and deleted the next messages that didn't sound life threatening important. She didn't care, not anymore. Tony Stark was a selfish asshole, and that last message proved it. If he didn't want her to call him, fine, she wouldn't. She continued deleting messages until she came to the last one, which began with Tony's shaky voice.

'_Well, this is new,'_ she thought while considering deleting it, but decided against it. _'Maybe he'll actually apologize in this one.'_

_Do me a favor and don't pay any attention to the previous messages I left on your phone. I wasn't thinking straight, and I just got a call from someone in Marketing telling me that you weren't at the meeting._

'_No shit, Sherlock, I had been kidnapped!'_ she thought, waiting for him to go on with his message.

_That is so unlike you. You haven't missed a meeting in ten years. So, please, please, call me when you get this. I'm really worried about you._

She blinked a couple of times, not really knowing what to think about that last comment. She heard the line go silent, and was about to end the message, but then she heard his voice again. As she listened to the rest of his message, he anger started fading away. For the first time, he was actually pouring his heart out to her, and he was actually getting the words out. Then, she heard his voice break; that was almost enough to break her heart.

_I didn't mean to leave you alone on the balcony that night. I wanted to come back, really I did. And I wanted to tell you that I was dying, but I was too scared to. I didn't want you to worry, plus I felt that if I had told you it would've been more real, if that makes any sense. Please call me when you get this._

Pepper sat there in shock. Her hands began to shake, and her eyes began to water. _'He thought I had left him,'_ she thought. _'He honestly thought I had left him.'_ She pressed a couple of buttons on her phone, then sat it down on the side table. She pulled back the covers that were covering her, and started to get up.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" asked the nurse as she walked back into Pepper's room.

"Look, you don't understand, I need to go. I am perfectly fine and nothing is wrong with me, okay? It is very important that I leave immediately, I have to go check on someone," Pepper explained anxiously.

"Oh no," the nurse said waving her arms. "You are in no condition to be leaving right now." Pepper huffed at her.

"Lady, you don't understand, I have to go," Pepper said loudly to her. "Go get the doctor and have him come look at me, otherwise I will discharge myself. I know this hospital doesn't have the authority to keep patients here against their will, so if that's what it takes for me to leave then so be it; otherwise, go get the doctor and have him discharge me," Pepper spat at her. The nurse grunted and walked out of her room. Pepper sat back in the bed, angry with the nurse but also worried about Tony. _'I hope he's okay,'_ she thought to herself. _'Please let him be okay,'_ she silently prayed.

She sat there for about five minutes, fidgeting and waiting on the doctor. She sighed in frustration and decided she had waited long enough, and she wasn't going to wait a moment longer. She looked down to the IV in her arm and began pulling the tape away.

"Whoa, ma'am, what are you doing?" the doctor asked as he walked into the room. Pepper looked over to him with her best death glare.

"Look, I don't have time to be waiting around for you people. I need to go," Pepper said to him.

"Alright, calm down." He walked over to her chart and picked it up to look at it. "All your tests look fine, no trauma to any organs, nothing really to be concerned about." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I could've told you that." The doctor walked over to her, and held up his hand to the bandage on her temple, but Pepper quickly swatted it away. "I already told you, I'm fine," she said, emphasizing her words. The doctor cleared his throat and began scribbling on his notepad.

"If you're saying you feel fine, then I suppose you can leave now. Just let me call the nurse so she can take the IV out of your arm and bring back your clothes." With that, the doctor nodded his head and left her room. Pepper sighed and watched him leave her room. Her hand went to her head, and she pulled the bandage off her temple. She ran two fingers across it and closed her eyes, feeling no sign of the cut she had received earlier.

'_Not again,'_ she thought in aggravation.

* * *

About an hour later, Pepper ran through the front door of the mansion.

"Tony!" she called loudly. She didn't get a response. "Jarvis, where's Tony?" She still got no answer. Now she was worried. She turned towards the stairs to the basement, considering that was the one place he would most likely be. Quickly, she ran down the stairs and saw him lying on his couch. She typed her code on the keypad and swung the door open. She ran over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Tony, wake up, I'm here," she said, shaking his shoulders. No response. "Tony?" she said, shaking his shoulders a little harder. Once again, no response. "Tony?" She called louder, and shook him violently, but he still wasn't responding. She placed her hands on the side of his face. "Tony, wake up!" she said forcefully. He wasn't responding to her at all; this wasn't good. "Jarvis, what's wrong with him?" She called to the ceiling, but Jarvis didn't respond as well. "Unmeet! Jarvis, what's wrong with him?" she asked again, her voice slightly shaking.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark had taken some sleeping pills when he got home."

"What?" Pepper exclaimed. "How many did he take?" she asked, very much concerned now.

"Only two, but his pulse has gone way down since then. He needs to be woken up immediately," Jarvis responded to her in his usual flat tone.

Pepper acted quickly. She couldn't pick him up so she slowly moved his body down to the floor, and began dragging him by the shoulders over to the shower on the other side of the workshop. He was heavy, even dragging him wasn't easy, but she wasn't letting that stop her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they got to the shower. Pepper dragged him in backwards so his upper body could feel the water first. She knelt down behind him and held his body up with hers. She reached over and turned the cold water on full blast. Pepper gasped when she felt the ice cold water hit her body, but she knew this was the best way to wake him up.

She sat there, teeth chattering and body shaking, waiting for him to open his eyes. She rubbed his forehead with her hand, moving the hair out of his face. Once she had done that, his eyes shot open and he sucked in air through his teeth. His body began violently shaking and his hands went to her arms, squeezing them tightly as he felt the shock of the cold water. Pepper sighed in relief and reached over to turn the water off. The water ceased its stream, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him until his body stopped shaking.

* * *

A few minutes later, after both of them had changed into dry clothes and after Pepper had called 911, she watched as the rescue squad look over Tony and talked to him to see if any damage had been done. They were upstairs in the bedroom now, he was lying in bed and she was standing in the doorway, just watching. She then saw Tony relax into the bed and close his eyes while both EMT personal gathered their equipment and walked over to her.

"We've given him something to counteract the Eszopiclone." Pepper nodded her head. "Right now, he just needs some rest." Pepper continued to nod her head.

"Thank you for coming," she said, shaking their hands and thanking them. She escorted the EMT's down to the front door, and watched them leave. She sighed, and walked back into the living room, standing there just starring at the stairs. _'All he needs right now is rest,'_ she thought. She stood there, not knowing what to do. With a sigh, she walked back down to the basement. She walked over to where she had found him and found two empty scotch bottles lying on the table. She saw the bottles, but she didn't see the pill bottle. She looked around hastily, trying to find it. She looked in between the couch cushions, under the couch, under the table, and she still didn't find it. She sighed, frustrated, but when she looked over to his desk, she saw the bottle sitting there. She got up off the floor, walked over to the desk, and picked up the bottle. She angrily shook her head, and turned back to the couch. She gathered up the two empty bottles, as well as a couple more bottles she found in the kitchenette.

She walked out of the basement and back up the stairs to the main level. She walked into the kitchen, over to the island counter, and placed everything beside the sink. She looked around the kitchen, and found more liquor bottles, some already open and some not, and she placed them all on the counter. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out all of the wine bottles, and placed them on the counter. When she was sure she had found everything in the kitchen, she turned back to counter and looked over her inventory. She sighed when she saw just how much she had collected from the workshop and kitchen alone.

'_This is too much,'_ she thought, shaking her head. She grabbed one of the bottles, not caring which one it was, opened it up and poured all of its contents down the sink. Once the bottle was done draining, she placed the cap back on it. She then moved the trashcan beside where she was standing in front of the sink, and forcefully dropped the empty bottle into the trashcan, hearing the glass shatter as it hit the bottom. She picked up another bottle, opened it, and once again poured the contents down the drain, followed by throwing it down into the trashcan. This was the cycle, and she would repeat it until all of it was gone.

* * *

Tony's eyes shot open when he heard glass breaking. He groggily got up out of bed, and grabbed his robe out of the closet, wrapping it around himself. He held onto the railing as he slowly walked down the stairs, still not really focused in the state he was in. He reached the bottom of the stairs and heard more glass breaking. He walked over to the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what Pepper was doing at the counter.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked without turning her head to look at him, while grabbing another bottle and pouring the liquid down the sink.

"What are you doing?" he asked her. Pepper smirked, and threw the bottle into the trashcan, hearing it break.

"Believe or not, Tony, I'm saving your life." Tony sighed.

"Pepper I'm fine," he said to her in a reassuring tone. Pepper slammed the bottle she had in her hand into the sink; amazingly enough it held together. She grabbed the pill bottle from beside the sink, and held it up for him to see.

"You see these, Tony? Watch." She then poured all of the pills into the garbage disposable and flipped the switch. Tony cringed when he heard the motor running, considering his head was still a little sensitive. Once she was satisfied that all of them had been destroyed, she turned the disposal off and tossed the pill bottle into the trashcan.

"You know, that really wasn't necessary," he said softly to her.

"Tony, you've got a choice. Either this stuff goes or I do," she said to him. Tony just looked at her with a blank expression.

"Pepper, what happened tonight was an accident, okay? It's not like I meant for it to happen," he said while walking closer to her.

"Tony," she said holding her hands up, and closing her eyes to calm herself down. She breathed in a couple times, then opened her eyes to look at him. "If you want to kill yourself, that's fine; but I love you too much to just stand here and watch you do it." Tony was taken aback by her words, and Pepper just stood there, not realizing what she had just said to him.

"You," he began. "You love me?" he asked her, making sure his ears heard right. Pepper blinked and mentally went back over her words. Horror washed over her face and she looked away from him. She began wringing her hands and bolted for the door.

"I need some air," she said quickly, trying to walk passed him.

"No!" Tony grabbed her arms. "No, you're not leaving me," he said as he held her tightly against him.

"Tony, please," she begged while pushing against his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't want you to leave," he whispered to her. Pepper stopped struggling, and just let the tears come freely as she leaned her head down against his shoulder. "I don't want you to leave me," he whispered again, wrapping his arms around her and soothingly rubbed her back while she cried..

* * *

The next thing Tony knew he was lying in bed on his side. He rolled over to look out the window and saw that it was morning, however he wasn't sure about the day. He heard the bathroom door open, and turned his head to see Pepper walking out dressed for work. She walked over to her bag and placed the necessary items in it. Tony took this time admiring her form. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and the dress she was wearing today was the sleeveless-square neck cranberry red jersey dress he had seen in her emergency overnight bag in the back of her car. This particular dress hugged every curve of her form, and the straps to the dress stopped at the curve of her shoulders, giving him an eyeful of all the lines of her arms.

Once she had finished packing her work bag, she turned to look at him. She smiled when she saw him awake and walked over to him, sitting beside him on the bed.

"What day is it?" he asked her.

"It's Thursday," she told him.

"We had a meeting on Thursday, which meeting was it?" She softly laughed.

"It's the R&D meeting at 8 am this morning."

"We need to get going then," he said moving to get up, but Pepper placed her hand on his chest, pushing him back down to the bed.

"No, Tony. You need some rest. You stay here, I'll go to it and take notes for you," she softly said to him. Tony laid back down onto the bed while holding her gaze with his. She leaned down slowly and pressed her lips against his. "I'll see you later, okay?" she whispered against his lips. Tony nodded his head and Pepper got up off the bed, grabbing her bag and walking out of the bed room. Tony just laid there after she left; there was no way he was going to be able to rest now.

* * *

It was another hectic morning at Stark Industries. Pepper sat in the conference room, waiting for the designated engineers to show up to this meeting that was supposed to begin ten minutes ago.

"Miss Potts," called one of the engineers.

"Yes?" she asked, looking over to him.

"Will Mr. Stark be joining us today?"

"Mr. Stark is feeling a little under the weather today, so I'm afraid he will not be joining us," she replied.

"Miss Potts, what have I told you about lying to my engineers?" She quickly turned her head, and saw Tony walking through the door, completely dressed for work. She stared at him wide eyed as he walked over to her and sat down in the chair right beside her. "Alright people, I'm here, let's get this meeting started," he said to the entire conference room. The meeting started with the head research engineer making the opening statement, and Tony turned to look at Pepper.

"You're supposed to be home, resting," she whispered through gritted teeth. Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"I got bored, so I decided to come to work," he said with a grin. Pepper rolled her eyes, and turned to pay attention to the meeting. She pretended not to notice when his hand snuck under the table and rested on her knee.

* * *

The meeting itself couldn't have gone on long enough. Tony knew they had sat there for at least two and half hours listening to the engineers bicker about some new project he could've cared less about. _'Now I remember why I always sent Pepper to these particular meetings,'_ he thought. _'Speaking of Pepper…'_ He looked around and didn't see her. He walked out of the room and looked down the hallway; she was nowhere to be seen. He walked down the hallway and found her in the break room, pouring two cups of coffee. He walked over to her and stood behind her.

"I figured we both could use some coffee," she said to him. Tony nodded his head.

"I could definitely use a cup right now." He walked closer to her and placed his hands on her arms.

"Tony, we're at work," she said matter of factly, while placing the coffee pot back on the coffee maker.

"I don't care," he said while pressing his chest to her back and wrapping his arms around her. He leaned his forehead into her hair, and she held onto his arms with her hands.

"Look at me," he whispered after placing a kiss on the top of her head. She turned around in his arms, and looked into his eyes. He sighed, gathering the courage for what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry for last night. I honestly didn't mean to scare you like that." She nodded her head slowly. "I had decided that I was done with it all, but apparently my judgment was still impaired." He smirked a little, then cleared his throat when he saw she didn't think it was funny. "What really got me was that I couldn't save you, and that's what hurt me the most."

"You took quite a beating yourself, you know?" she said, pointing that out to him.

"Yeah, but I'd rather him kick my ass a thousand times again than watch you die." She nodded her head, and quickly looked down, trying to conceal the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"I love you, you know," he said to her. The tears she was trying to conceal poured out of her eyes with full force. He placed his hands on her cheeks, and lifted her head up to look her in the eyes. "I love you," he said again, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. She shut her eyes tightly, trying desperately to control her sobs. Tony leaned forward and captured her lips with his while wrapping his arms around her. She kissed him back with equal vigor while wrapping her arms around his waist. They stood there for a while, neither one of them caring that several workers walked in and immediately walked out the moment they saw them making out in the break room.

* * *

**HONG KONG, CHINA**

Chen and Ming Yong stood in the Hong Kong airport. Ming was holding a ticket to the United States while begging her husband to come with her.

"Chen, please come with me," she begged, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I have to stay, Ming. The moment they find out we're gone they'll come after us. I need to stay here so I can keep them off your trail," Chen explained to his wife.

"If you stay you'll be killed," she said.

"So will you if you stay. You need to get to America and give the authorities the information I told you. The entire continent is in danger if you don't do so, Ming," he explained to her. She nodded her head, and kissed her husband goodbye. "We will see each other again, I promise. If not in this life, but the next," he whispered to her. She took one last look at him through blurry eyes and walked towards the gate.

Chen sighed as he watched his wife disappear from sight. He watched from the window as the passengers boarded, and next thing he knew the plane was backing away from the gate. The plane drove towards the runway, and once it was in position it sped down the airstrip, and off to America it went. After the plane was gone, Chen hastily walked out of the airport, thinking of any place that would be good for him hide, at least until his master's goons found him.

* * *

A couple of hours later Tony sat at his desk looking over some paperwork when his secretary called him through the intercom.

"Mr. Stark, there is an Agent Coulson here to see you." Tony grunted.

"I'm on my way," he said, getting up out of his chair and walking out of his office. He walked to the secretary's desk and indeed saw Agent Coulson standing there, is his usual chipper demeanor.

"Mr. Stark, so good to see you again," Coulson said to him.

"Alright Coulson, what is this about now?" Tony asked him.

"Mr. Stark, we need to debrief you and Miss Potts about the events that happened yesterday."

"Okay, let's get one thing straight," Tony began, holding his hand up to the man. "No one is talking to Miss Potts until I've had the chance to talk to her, is that clear?"

"Mr. Stark, we need to debrief her on the events that happened during her abduction," Coulson said, trying to make him aware of the seriousness of the issue.

"Like I said, no one is talking to Miss Potts until I have had the chance to talk to her. So you can tell your boss that we will set up an appointment when both of us are ready to spill our hearts and souls out to him, okay?" Tony said with finality. Coulson blinked at him with his usual blank expression.

"You'll be hearing from us, Mr. Stark," Coulson said, turning on his heal towards the exit.

"Why don't you tell me something I don't already know, Coulson!" Tony yelled to him. Tony turned to walk back to his office, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Pepper standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "What? Don't give me that look," he said to her.

"Honestly, Tony, why didn't you just let him talk to me?" she asked. Tony walked closer to her.

"Because we already have enough SHIELD interference in our lives, we don't need anymore," he explained to her. She sighed and just shook her head. "Why did Iron Maiden kidnap you anyway?" he asked her when they began walking towards his office.

"She said I had a ring that belonged to her master and she wanted to know where it was, but I told her I didn't know what she was talking about," she explained as they entered his office.

"You know, it may be possible that you came back with more luggage than you thought, Pep."

"Yeah, that's very possible."

"Where's the luggage that you took with you to Hong Kong?" he asked her.

"Back at my apartment."

"Then that's where we'll start."

* * *

Tony and Pepper raced down the highway to her apartment building. They parked the Audi and ran into the building, then riding the elevator to the designated floor. They walked down the hallway to her door, but Pepper grabbed his arm stopping him in his tracks.

"What? What is it?" he asked looking at her. She pointed at the door.

"Look," she said. He did, and saw that her apartment door was open. It had been closed to look like nothing out of the ordinary was going on, however the door hadn't been closed all the way.

"That's not good," Tony said.

"No, it's not." Pepper pulled out her phone and called the police.

* * *

"Are you sure there isn't anything missing, ma'am?" the officer asked Pepper.

"Yes, everything is here," she said, looking around at the mess that was now her apartment. The officer sighed and looked around as well.

"Whoever was here obviously didn't find what they were looking for," he said. Pepper swallowed nervously.

"Yes, apparently not." She left the officer and walked back over to Tony.

"You're not staying here tonight, you're coming home with me," he whispered to her with finality. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that," she whispered back. "The officer thinks that whoever was here didn't find what they were looking for." Tony looked around.

"I agree with him. If they, or in this case we know for a fact it's a she, had found what she was looking for, why in the world would she have torn up your entire apartment? What bags did you take with you to Hong Kong?" he asked her.

"Just my vuitton luggage set," she replied, then her eyes widened.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"And my black Chanel tote bag."

"Where is it?"

"At your house."

* * *

Tony and Pepper ran through his front door, racing to get to her office. Tony entered the office first and spotted the black bag sitting on top of her desk. Quickly, he ran over to it, grabbed it, and turned it upside down, emptying all of its contents on the floor. If Pepper hadn't been eager to find this so called ring, she would've had a heart attack watching her boss dump everything out of her purse onto the floor. Both of them fell to the floor, and scavenged around looking for it. Pepper moved some papers and a couple of personal items out of the way, then her eyes fell upon a metal circle staring her in the face. Slowly, she picked it up and held it up for Tony to see. Tony looked up to her, and saw what she held in her fingers. Carefully he took it from her and studied it.

"So this is what all the fuss is about," he said, still looking at it.

"Apparently so," Pepper replied.

* * *

Night time had fallen, and both Tony and Pepper were sitting on the couch in the living room. Tony had discarded his suit jacket and tie on the back of the couch, and both of their shoes laid beside the coffee table. Pepper held the ring in her hands while Tony spoke with Coulson over the phone. She wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying; she was too busy looking at the ring.

'_So this is the ring that I was almost killed over,'_ she thought to herself. It was obviously Chinese because of the symbols on it but she had never seen a ring like this before, especially one with this kind of coloring; copper in the center and silver on the top and bottom. She heard Tony get off the phone, and watched him lean back into the couch.

"So what did he say?" she asked him.

"Just that either me or both of us needed to come in tomorrow. Seeing as we found what she was looking for, both of our statements wouldn't be necessary." Pepper nodded her head and placed the ring back on the coffee table. Sighing heavily she leaned back and leaned her head on Tony's shoulder, while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Tony leaned his head on hers and closed his eyes. "I feel the same way. It's been a very trying passed two days."

"Yes, it certainly has," she said, placing a hand on his chest and softly running her hand along it. Tony smiled and the feeling of her hand through his shirt.

"That feels nice," he whispered to her. Pepper shifted and moved away from him.

"I suppose we better get to bed then," she said softly, moving off the couch and walking towards the stairs. Tony rubbed his face with his hands and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we should, I am a little tired," he said, slightly disappointed. Pepper sighed and turned back to look at him.

"Tony, I wasn't talking about sleeping," she said. Tony looked up to her wide eyed. She stood there at the end of the stair well, waiting for him to get off the couch. Tony's heart felt like it wanted to leap out of his chest. Slowly, so not to run over and snatch her up, he walked over to her.

"Jarvis, no interruptions until further notice," he said to the AI.

"Yes, Sir," Jarvis replied.

A soft smile grazed her lips as she held out her hand for him to take. He looked into her eyes, searching for the slightest hint of hesitation on her part, but he found none. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he took her hand and let her lead him up the stairs.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, tell me now, how bad do you want it? *big grin* Let me know now, how bad do you want it? If you haven't voted on my poll, speak now or forever hold your peace. Reviews would be good too, just saying…


	16. Chapter Fifteen Rated M

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hello All! Here is the moment that most of you have been waiting for! *BIG GRIN. I gotta say though, I thought I would never get this thing edited. Special thanks goes to my muse tonyedwstark for being extremely patient with me. Another special thanks goes out to all you people who voted on my poll. The results are in, and we have a whopping 97% voted 'YES' to the love scene. So, if you are in the 3% that voted 'NO', I suggest you not scroll down any further than my Author's Note.

WARNING (because I know I have to put this in): If you are offended by/not allowed to read content involving sexual situations, DO NOT PROCEED ANY FURTHER! This chapter is rated M for a reason, and it's not because of spooning either. My story is rated T over all, so I refuse to up its rating just because I contained the 'action' in one chapter, so for those of you who keep up with my story and don't want to read about sex, please wait for Chapter Sixteen to continue reading. YOU ARE HEREBY WARNED!

Okay, now that I've got the warning out of the way, I have some bad news. No, it's not about the story. My computer has to go to the doctor. *sigh I know, I tried so hard to put it off as long as I possibly could, but I can't any longer. My goal was to make it to the love scene, and thank God I did otherwise I'd have some angry fan girls running after me with torches and pitchforks. There are three things wrong with it: The battery is dead (no longer charging) so I have to keep it plugged up 24/7, my keyboard went out, as well as the mouse. This will be the second time I've had to have maintenance done to it since 2008, and if the people who sold it to me keep it as long as they did the last time (I won't mention their names *cough BestBuy *cough) it will be at least three weeks before I am able to post again. For those of you who I talk to on a regular basis, we will still be able to do so, however posting will be impossible. Just wanted to let you guys know about my unvolunteered vacation.

Alright! I've spoken enough! Read and roll around in the sexiness that's about to ensue! :D

* * *

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Fifteen

They stood in the middle of the bedroom, lights out and standing less than a foot away from each other. The only light in the entire room radiated out of Tony's chest through his shirt, casting a faint blue hue across her face. His hands gently held her elbows and her hands rested in the crooks of his arms. Gazing deeply into her eyes he softly pulled on her elbows, bringing her closer to him. He brought her body against his chest, and leaned down to softly nuzzle his nose against her forehead.

Her heart began beating wildly. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling the emotion overwhelm her. This was the man she loved, and he loved her back, and nothing could get in their way right now. She felt him place a kiss to her forehead, then lightly trailed kisses down her temple and jaw line, all the while lightly scratching her with his facial hair. Her head rolled to one side, giving him better access; then it rolled back slightly, giving him better access to her jaw, neck, and even her lips.

Tony kissed her jaw line, then began kissing the crook between her bottom lip and chin. Slowly, he moved his lips up and placed a hard but passionate kiss on her lips. Her hands immediately trailed up his biceps, to his shoulders, and wrapped her arms around them. Tony's arms wrapped around her waist, pressing her tightly against him. His fingers dug into the small of her back, grabbing the material of her dress, bunching it in his hands as if trying to get her closer. As his lips moved with hers, he loosened his death grip on her dress, and one of his hands slowly moved down and gently cupped her butt.

Pepper gasped against his lips, and leaned back slightly to gaze into his eyes. She unwound her arms from his shoulders, and rubbed her hands down chest then down his stomach. Tony felt his muscles tense, feeling her hands on him through his shirt. Pepper's hands stopped at the waist line of his pants, and dragged her hands along the edge of his waist. Once her hands met in the back, she gently pulled up on his shirt, untucking it from his pants. Once the tail of his shirt came free, she moved her hands underneath the shirt, softly brushing her finger tips against the base of his spine.

Tony shuddered a little, and his eyes rolled closed a moment. He felt slightly light headed, due to the obvious blood loss in his head. His pants were becoming very uncomfortable now, and it took every ounce of strength and self-control he had left to keep from ripping that dress off her body. He needed her desperately now, but he needed to do this at her pace so she could get comfortable with him, and judging by the way she was pulling the rest of his shirt out from his pants, she was getting very comfortable.

Pepper pulled the rest of his shirt free, and reached up to the top button on his shirt. She watched her fingers unbutton each of the buttons, while dragging her fingers down his skin. She came to the portion of his shirt that was right over his arc. She didn't pause or wince; she continued to unbutton the shirt, and dragged her fingers slowly over the arc, and her fingers continued their journey unbuttoning his shirt. She reached the bottom button and dragged her hands slowly back up his chest, pushing it open as she did so. Once the shirt was completely open, she saw the intensity of the arc reactor. She gazed upon it as if hypnotized, and slowly traced her fingers around the edge of the cool metal.

Tony was dying right where he stood. It was glorious torture, but he was almost to the point where couldn't take much more. The arc wasn't covered anymore so its beams shown on her face, and he could watch her as both her eyes and hands trailed down his body. Her hands moved from his arc, and began roaming around his chest. He breathed in and closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of her hands on him. He then felt two sets of fingers brush across his nipples. His eyes shot open and his hands reached up to the top of her dress. His left hand began pulling the zipper down her back, while his right hand brushed his fingers down the entire length of her spine.

Her hands ceased their movements on his chest as her eyes closed and her entire body shivered with arousal. Slowly her eyes opened, and Tony watched as her pupils dilated, which was the most erotic thing he had ever seen in his entire life. Pepper just kept her hands flat on his chest as his hands moved down her back. He pushed the zipper all the way down to her tail bone, then both of his hands brushed up her back, slowly dragging his fingertips up her skin. Pepper closed her eyes again, this time beginning to dig her nails into his chest. The feel of his hands on her was causing sparks of arousal to go straight to her core. She couldn't take much more herself. She felt his hands come to the clasp of her bra and made quick work of undoing it.

She opened her eyes and gazed into his. The light of his arc was shining of his face as well, and she could see that his pupils had indeed dilated, almost to the point to where she couldn't see the brown in his eyes. She reached up to his shoulders, and began to push his shirt down his arms to rid his body of it. Tony momentarily let go of her and let the shirt fall down to the floor. Just as quickly as he had let her go, his hands were back on her pulling the top of her dress down.

Tony began pulling the top of the dress down her arms, and when he pulled it passed her chest, the strapless bra came off, revealing her breasts to him. He pushed the dress down passed her hips while keeping his eyes on her breasts. Once the dress had pooled at her feet, he placed his hands on her stomach and slowly slid them up to cup both of her breasts in his hands. Pepper's eyes rolled closed and her head fell back. She placed her hands on his shoulders for support, fearing that her now wobbly legs wouldn't be able to support her for much longer. Tony brought his head down and kissed the skin between her breasts, occasionally darting his tongue out to taste the skin. Pepper's breathing quickened as her fingers curled into his shoulder, digging her nails into him.

"Tony," she softly moaned. Hearing his name on her lips like that was almost more than tony could bear. He let go of her breasts, leaned back up to her face, and pressed his lips to hers while pulling her tightly into his arms. Pepper's arms wound around his shoulders again, and held him as tightly to her as she could. Tony loved this feeling, being skin to skin with their naked chests pressed together. He could feel every inch of the soft skin of her chest as he pressed the arc between her breasts. His hands slowly rubbed down her back, drinking in the soft and smooth texture of her skin. Pepper released her mouth from his and began kissing down his neck and over to his shoulder. She placed open-mouthed kisses to it and then rubbed her cheek against it, wanting to touch him as much as she possibly could. Tony moved his face to her neck and inhaled. She smelled good, just like the intoxicating scent of the perfume perfume he had found on the dresser in Hong Kong.

"Tony," she whispered to him. "Bed, please." Tony nodded into her neck, reached down, pulled her legs up and wrapped them around his waist. Her arms tightened around his shoulders as he carried her over to their bed. He climbed onto the bed with his knees and softly put her down in the middle of the bed. He kissed her passionately one more time before leaning back up to look at her. She was so beautiful, bathed in the light of his arc, looking up at him like she wanted him. How he had dreamt about this moment for a long time, how much he had dreamt about it over ten years, and finally it was coming true. He reached down and began pulling on the black silk panties she still had on. His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest. He slowly dragged her panties down her slender legs, off her feet, and dropped them somewhere beside the bed. Now she was naked head to toe, the real thing was so much better than the fantasy.

Her hair laid scattered around her head like a halo while his hands reached down and cupped her breasts. They fit perfectly into his hands and watched intently as he rolled them with his hands, gently running the pads of his thumbs over her nipples. Feeling Pepper shiver he continued trailing his hands down, lightly running his fingertips over her flat stomach, and down to the almost bare wedge between her legs, save for a few soft red hairs he couldn't help but tease. Pepper quickly sat up and began kissing his stomach. She placed her hands on his thighs and began stroking them, then brought her hands over to his fly and began undoing it.

"Pepper," he softly moaned while placing his hands in her hair. Once his fly was open she gently rubbed him through his boxers as her lips began to move down his stomach and passed his belly button, following the soft trail of hair that led underneath his boxers. "No," he said quickly, pushing her back and leaning down to kiss her lips. "You can do that later, okay? Right now I need you," he whispered against her lips. She nodded and scooted back into the bed, lying down and placing her head on the pillow. Tony held her gaze as she moved back. He pushed both his boxers and pants passed his hips, freeing his impatient erection, and removed his legs from them.

Pepper watched as he slowly crawled over to her. She spread her legs for him and slowly lifted one of her legs, softly rubbing her calf against his hip. Tony grabbed her leg and hooked it around his hip, and softly ran his hand up and down that leg. He leaned down and began kissing her again, this time darting his tongue out and parting her lips. She welcomed his tongue and gently sucked on it while running her tongue against his. Her hands rubbed his arms and shoulders as Tony ran his hands along the side of her stomach, then moved up to cup her shoulders from underneath, trying to pull her more to him. He braced himself on one of his forearms, and reached down with one hand and poised himself at her entrance.

Pepper gasped against his lips, feeling him at her entrance. Tony slowly pushed the tip in, but the feeling of wanting and being inside of her became too much and quickly pushed himself all the way inside of her. Pepper's back arched off the bed as she screamed, her nails digging into his shoulders. Tony gritted his teeth, desperately trying to keep still for a moment. If he didn't pace himself this was going to end real quick. God forbid that happen, especially now since he's finally inside the woman of his dreams. Slowly, Pepper relaxed back onto the bed and looked up to Tony. Sweat was forming on his brow and the expression on his face was strained. Carefully, she leaned up and softly kissed his lips. A sigh of relief washed over Tony as he relaxed a little, and gently pushed her back down to the bed. Pepper's hands released from their death grip on his shoulders and wrapped around his torso; one going to the small of his back and the other to the base of his neck. Tony let go of her lips, and leaned up slightly. He breathed in a couple of times, regaining his focus. He pulled out and thrusted back into her slowly. Pepper's eyes closed, feeling him fill her once again. He pulled back out again and thrusted back in, this time more quickly.

"Oh, Tony," she softly moaned. Tony stopped abruptly and began to breathe deeply. Pepper's eyes shot open and looked up to him, seeing his eyes closed and his face strained again. "What's wrong?" she asked. Tony's eyes slowly opened and looked at her.

"If you keep moaning my name like that this is going to be quick," he grunted back to her. She softly smiled up to him and began running her fingers along the base of his spine.

"We don't need to try to draw it out, this time. We're both on edge enough as it is," she whispered. "Just make love to me right now, and we'll worry about the marathons later." Tony said nothing in reply, except for pulling out and thrusting back inside of her. Pepper's breathing became shallow as he kept up a steady rhythm. Her eyes rolled closed, the pleasure almost becoming too much for her. "Oh," she moaned. The hand that was on Tony's lower back had moved up. Both hands we're clinging to his back, while all her nails dug into his skin. Tony winced feeling the nails almost cut his skin, but the pain quickly melted into pleasure.

"Oh God, Pepper," he whispered to her as his thrusts sped up. Her eyes popped open and one of her hands released from his back and snaked along the mattress, trying to find the edge so she could hang on to something without hurting him. Tony grabbed her wrist and laid her arm back down onto the bed, entwining their fingers and holding her hand as he continued to thrust inside of her. He leaned down slowly and kissed her long and hard.

"Mmm, Tony," she moaned against his mouth. Something inside of Tony snapped and he began thrusting harder, still keeping the same pace. Pepper's breath hitched in her throat as both of her legs wrapped around his waist. "Tony, please," she begged, almost on the verge of losing her mind. Tony kissed down her jaw and over to her ear.

"Come for me, Love," he whispered to her. Pepper screamed in pleasure as her orgasm rippled down her spine; the spasms causing her body to repeatedly convulse. With her back arched, her nails digging into his shoulder, fingers squeezing his, and her muscles contracting around him, Tony couldn't hold on any longer. He buried his face into her neck and a shout escaped his lips as his body tensed. His own orgasm shot down his spine to between his legs, causing his hips to involuntarily thrust against hers repeatedly. He eventually felt her body fall limp down to the mattress and decided to follow suit, but moved his body slightly to the side so he wouldn't crush her. They laid there what seemed like forever, in a mess of sweat and tangled limbs. Tony lifted his body and rolled off of her, still keeping their fingers entwined. He laid his head against the pillow, and placed their entwined hands on top of his chest. He rolled his head to the side to look at her. She was still breathing a little hard and her eyes were still closed. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the top of it.

"Hey," he whispered to her. Her eyes fluttered opened and smiled at him.

"Hey," she whispered back, then closed her eyes again. He smiled and turned his head back up towards the ceiling. They laid there resting and catching their breaths. When he finally heard her breathing level out he turned his head back towards her. Her eyes were open now and she was looking up towards the ceiling. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had never done this before, talk to his partner afterwards. He didn't know what to say, or what he should say. He definitely wasn't going to ask if it was good or not, because he didn't want to seem weak or unsure of his performance; and he wasn't going to look that way in front of Pepper. He opened his mouth again, and this time just let the words come out on their own.

"Wanna do it again?" Pepper smiled and turned her head towards him.

"Absolutely," she replied. Tony laughed at her response, and both of them turned towards each other, wrapping their arms around one another and bringing their lips together.

"I'm gonna need a few minutes to um…" Tony began, looking slightly embarrassed. Pepper smiled.

"I know." Tony nodded and leaned in to kiss her. His hands began roaming up and down her body. One of his hands moved down her back, gently grabbed her butt and squeezed it. "Mmm," she moaned against his lips. Tony then pushed on her shoulders and had her lay down flat on her back. Tony moved on top of her still kissing her lips. "I thought you said you needed a minute?" she asked him. He looked at her and smiled wickedly.

"I can make you scream my name in more than one way, Pepper." Before she could protest, his lips went to her neck and began kissing down her chest. His hands went to her breasts again, and his lips came to the center of her chest, then moving to kiss both sides of her breasts. Pepper's hands went to his shoulders, holding him right beside his neck. She leaned her head up, and watched his lips move all over her skin. Tony's lips moved to her right breast and began kissing around the nipple. He made a complete circle around it, then began sucking on it. Pepper relaxed her head against the pillow and arched her back into his mouth. He slowly sucked on her nipple while he teased the other one with his thumb. He then moved his mouth over to the other breast, and began the same pattern; kissing around the nipple then gently sucking on it while teasing the other one with his thumb. Pepper's skin was on fire, and the ache between her legs was almost unbearable. She breathed in and out, trying to keep control. Tony then moved down to kiss her stomach, then kissed down to her belly button. He kissed around it then plunged his tongue inside of it. He continued passed her belly button and came to the wedge of hair between her legs.

"Tony," she moaned again. A spark of arousal shot through Tony and felt himself grow hard again. He parted her legs with his hand and laid down, moving them to rest on his shoulders. He leaned his head down and began placing kisses on the inside of her thigh, then slowly moved down to the most sensitive part of her. When Pepper realized what he was doing, she lifted her head up and saw his head between her legs. That in itself caused her breathing to quicken, and she laid her head back down to the pillow, shutting her eyes tightly and waiting on edge for what she knew was about to come. Tony laid his head completely on her, and darted his tongue out to lick her clit. Pepper shuddered feeling the tip of his tongue on her. Tony smiled and darted out the entire length of his tongue, running it over her clit.

"Tony!" she moaned louder. Tony pretended not to hear that, and moved his lips over her, beginning to suck on her. Pepper gasped and immediately her hands went into his hair, scratching his scalp and running her fingers through his hair. He continued to lick and suck on her, barely bringing her to the point of orgasm and quickly pulled away. He climbed back up to her and kissed her lips, settling his hips inside of hers again, ready for round two. Pepper wasn't going to give in that easily; she shifted her weight and rolled Tony onto his back. "You said I could do it later. It's later," she whispered to him, and began kissing down his neck.

"But Pepper," Tony began to protest, but Pepper pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shhh, it's later," she said with finality. She kissed his lips this time, then trailed down his neck and down to his chest. Tony sighed and closed his eyes, preparing himself for what she was about to do to him. Pepper moved down to his chest and kissed around his arc while her hands played with both of his nipples. A low moan escaped from his throat and kept his hands beside him on the bed. She moved down his chest and down to his stomach. While kissing down the trail of hair on his stomach, she grabbed his length and began stroking him with her hand.

"Oh God," Tony moaned, feeling her hand on him. She continued stroking him as she kissed at his base and moved her lips up, placing kisses along his length until she reached his tip. Tony held his breath, feeling her lips on him, then he felt her tongue dart out and began swirling it around his tip. Tony's hand grabbed the sheet, afraid to put his hands on her. Then her lips replaced her tongue and took him inside of her mouth. Tony opened his eyes and looked down to her. He watched as her hand stroked him and her lips worked him in and out of her mouth. His eyes rolled back and his head fell back to the pillow. "Pepper," he moaned loudly. He struggled so hard not to snatch her up, but when he felt his release building he had no choice.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her back up to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard. Pepper then straddled his waist and reached between her legs, grabbing him. Tony gasped against her mouth and Pepper leaned up, guiding him to her. Tony moved his hands to her hips, and held on tightly as she slid down on him and settled her weight on top of him. Tony dug his nails into her hips, feeling himself inside of her for the second time that night. She placed her hands on his shoulders to balance herself and began rocking her hips against his. Tony met every one of her thrusts with one of his own, wanting desperately to hear his name on her lips again.

"Tony," she moaned again. She reached her hands up and combed her hair back with her fingers, giving him one hell of a view of her perky chest. A shiver shot down his spine, and realized he was close. He released one of his hands from her hips and moved it to her clit, tracing circles around it. Pepper gasped at the sensation and her thrusts sped up over his hips. Tony moved both his hips and hand faster, wanting her to come before him. He braced his feet into the mattress and sat himself up, keeping one hand on her back and the other between her legs. He kissed down her neck and sucked on her skin lightly. Pepper felt her body tense and began shuddering repeatedly in his arms. Tony braced her to him, and felt himself spurt inside of her. He wrapped both arms around her tightly as both of them rode out of the aftershocks of their love making. They sat like that for a few moments, slowly coming down from their highs. Tony leaned back, taking her with him, and settled his back against the mattress still inside of her. They laid there for a few moments catching their breath until Pepper shifted, but Tony's grip tightened around her.

"No!" he said quickly. "No, stay," he whispered to her.

"I am staying," she whispered back.

"No, that's not what I mean." He reached his hand down and straightened out one of her legs. He rolled them on to their sides and kept the other leg wrapped around his hip. "This is what I mean," he said, referring to them still wrapped around each other. Pepper nodded in understanding and relaxed in his arms. Tony sighed in contentment for the first time in over a year, and for the first time ever he was genuinely happy. "I love you," he whispered to her. She smiled softly.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Pepper wasn't sure how much time had passed when her eyes fluttered open. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but the feeling of his fingers running up and down her back brought her back to consciousness. She saw Tony gazing and smiling at her. They were still in the same position they were when she fell asleep. She leaned forward and kissed him, and with a sigh Tony shifted their position, rolling her onto her back. He laid on top of her once again and began thrusting inside of her. Pepper wrapped her arms around him and braced her hands on his back. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist, and one of his hands went to her knee, holding her as he continued his thrusts. He continued kissing her, occasionally darting his tongue out to taste her mouth. Eventually the pleasure became too much for her and she broke away from his mouth, moaning his name. Tony leaned up on both of his hands and began thrusting as hard as he could without hurting her.

He watched as her body began writhing underneath him; her back arching, her chest heaving, her head rolling back and her eyes closing, not to mention her hands clawing down his back. He continued thrusting, and rolled his hips against hers, adding a little more pressure to her center. She cried out his name, and dug her nails into his back even harder as her muscles began contracting around him. Tony's eyes rolled closed as his own orgasm followed right behind hers. He kept himself braced up on shaky arms, watched her relax and fall limp to the bed. He pulled out of her slowly and moved to the side. He reached down and pulled the sheet over them both. Tony rolled to his side and scooted up behind her, pulling her against his chest and wrapping his arm around her waist.

* * *

Pepper's eyes fluttered open to a brightly lit room. She yawned and reached up to rub her eyes. She sat up slightly and looked over her shoulder to the windows. The sun was high in the sky, meaning it was sometime late in the morning. She looked down, and saw Tony still sleeping. His arm was still draped over her waist, so she turned as slowly and gently as she could without disturbing him. She relaxed back onto the bed and just looked at him. A smile grew on her face seeing the peaceful expression on his face. She reached a hand up and gently brushed the hair away from his forehead. She leaned in slowly, and placed a soft kiss on his temple, and began kissing down to his cheek and then to his jaw. She then heard a low moan come from Tony's throat, and both his arms wrapped around her body, shifting them to where her body laid on top on him. His lips closed around hers, kissing her deeply as her fingers combed through his messy hair. After a few moments, she slowly pulled back and smiled down to him.

"Good morning," she said. A wide grin formed on his lips.

"Good morning indeed. I could get used to being woken up like that," he said. Pepper snorted.

"I was trying to be gentle so not to disturb you." She laid a hand on his chest, and laid her chin down on it, looking up to him.

"You didn't disturb me, trust me on that one." They laid there moment in silence, just looking at each other.

"I take it you feel much better now," she said to him. Tony laughed.

"Oh my God, honey, you have no idea." Pepper giggled and leaned up to kiss him lips.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," she said against his lips. He leaned back and just looked at her.

"You know, you're glowing," he said to her. Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"I'm glowing?" she asked, making sure she heard right. Tony nodded his head.

"Yeah. You look like you're so much more relaxed than you did yesterday. I mean, you looked like a woman who's boss was giving you so much grief that you wanted to literally castrate him for being such a jerk." Pepper smiled and crushed her mouth against his to shut him up. "And I'm gonna stop talking now," he mumbled against her lips.

"Mmmhmm," Pepper hummed, and continued to kiss him. "Are you hungry?" She asked, suddenly pulling away from him.

"Yeah, I want more of you," he said with a toothy grin. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Yeah, well that's what I meant." He pulled her back down and kissed her again, but then both of them heard the loud rumble come from his stomach and began laughing.

"I thought I would never miss the sound of that," she said, still laughing.

"Okay, so maybe I am a little hungry," he said, shielding his face from embarrassment. Pepper grabbed his hands and moved them away to look at him.

"What would you like for breakfast, I'll cook this time; and no, before you say anything, I am NOT making omelets," she said firmly. Tony snorted and looked up to the ceiling, genuinely thinking about what he wanted.

"Um, I want pancakes. But not just any pancakes, I want chocolate chip pancakes." Pepper's head fell to his shoulder and grunted.

"I should've known," she mumbled against his shoulder.

"You asked me what I wanted, and that's what I want," he said defending himself.

"Alright, alright, chocolate chip pancakes," she repeated, moving off of him and getting out of bed. He watched her naked body walk around the bed in search for her panties. She picked them up, and placed her legs in one at a time, slowly bringing them up and covering herself.

"Uh uh," he began. Pepper turned to look at him. "My house, my rules, therefore no clothes shall be wore in my house today," he said firmly. Pepper laughed and walked over to pick his shirt up off the floor and put her arms through it.

"Tony, I don't cook in the nude," she said, buttoning the shirt.

"Not yet you don't," he replied, wiggling his eyebrows. Pepper narrowed her eyes at him and just shook her head.

"You can come down when you finally get some pants on," she said, turning on her heel towards the bedroom door. Tony watched as those long legs, sticking out of _his_ shirt for that matter, walked out of the bedroom.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **OH…MY…GOD! After a three month absence, I AM BACK BABY! WHOO! Man, I gotta tell you guys, it's been quite a three months. I won't bore you with all of the details, but most of you know that I had to take a break because my computer had some issues. Well, after I got my computer back, my mom informs me that we're moving across town. Wonderful. I wasn't happy with the timing, but let's just say that after a year, I now have DSL and am no longer limited to 5 GB of data usage per month. Anyway, I'm back! For good this time! So I'm gonna shut up now and let you guys read. This one is a little shorter than my usual length, but I felt I left it off in a good spot (cliff hanger! Whoo!) Anyway, shutting up now. Read and review!

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Sixteen

Tony carefully walked down the stairs wearing nothing but his boxers. His legs were a little wobbly this morning, and they were with good reason. He reached the bottom stair and walked towards the kitchen, hearing something sizzle on the stove as he did so. Running a hand through his messy hair, he stopped in his tracks in the middle of the door frame when he saw her standing in front of the stove.

Watching her walk out of the bedroom with his shirt on was nothing compared to the sight in front of him.

Her hair was done up in a messy bun, exposing the back of her neck to him, begging him to kiss it. His gaze traveled down and locked on her bare legs. Those combined with his blue shirt was enough to drive him insane. _'Tony, you are hitting that,'_ he told himself as he looked her up and down. He wanted nothing more than to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her. _'Wait you idiot, you can,'_ he yelled at himself. He walked over to her and stood behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and slowly pulled the shirt up while touching her skin. Once the shirt was high enough he wrapped his arms around her stomach and pressed his chest into her back, and began softly kissing the back of her neck.

"Somebody is in a _very_ good mood this morning," she said with a soft giggle.

"Mmhmm," Tony mumbled against her neck. He leaned forward and placed a kiss behind her ear, then laid his chin on her shoulder. Pepper poured some more batter onto the frying pan, then placed the bowl back down on the counter and placed her hands on top of his.

"Yeah it was a very nice reason, wasn't it?" she asked him, trying to keep from laughing. Tony narrowed his eyebrows.

"Just nice? That's all it was?" he asked, sounding a little hurt. Pepper rolled her eyes and picked up the spatula, and carefully flipped the pancake over.

"Tony, I was trying to keep my answer low key so that maybe later we could, I don't know... do it again?" she said, then glanced over her shoulder at him. Tony smiled when he saw her cheeks flush pink.

"You little minx," he said with a soft swat to her bottom. Pepper jumped in surprise, feeling his hand on her butt.

"Ooh, Tony," she began, turning her head to look at him, but Tony leaned down and captured her lips with his.

"Yep," he said against her mouth. "Still turns me on when you say it."

"Oh, Lord," she grunted as she pulled her mouth away and picked up the pancake with the spatula. "Move back a little," she said to him as she scooted back and opened the oven door. She bent over slightly and placed it on the pile of pancakes that were staying warm in the oven.

"You know, this should be the next position we try," he said as he placed his hands on her hips and pressed his groin into her butt. Pepper stood up quickly with a soft squeak escaping her lips. Pepper turned and saw him grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"You know what, it's your turn," she said handing the spatula to him. Tony looked from her to the spatula as the grin disappeared from his face.

"Um, Pep, I don't know," he began as he took it from her.

"I'm going to show you," she said to him as she moved to stand behind him and wrapped one of her arms around his stomach and kissed the space between his shoulder blades. "Alright, now pick up the cup with the batter and pour some into the frying pan," she instructed. Tony nervously held his breath as he picked up the cup and began to pour the batter. "Alright, I think that's enough," she said once there was a good sized pancake on the pan. "And it is okay to breathe, you know?" she said, giggling at how tense he was. Tony let out a long, deep breath and narrowed his eyes towards her.

"Okay, what now?" he asked her. Pepper placed both of her hands flat on his stomach and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"We wait for that side to get done," she said.

"How will you know when it's done?" he asked. She just had to smile; he was so cute when he was asking questions.

"The edges won't look wet anymore, they'll look dry; or you can slowly lift the edge of it and see if it's done or not."

"Which would you do?" he asked her.

"I'd wait a few seconds for the sides to not look so wet, then I'd flip it. Stop being so self-conscience, I'm here helping you so relax a little, okay?" Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"It's my first time, okay? Give me a break if I'm a little tense." Pepper snorted.

"Anyway, the sides look done to me so you can flip it now."

"Okay, so like this?" He asked as he placed the corner of the spatula next to the pancake.

"No," she said gently as she placed her hand on top of his and guided the spatula to the pancake. "You want to get the entire front edge underneath it, that way it'll be easier to flip onto the pan." Tony smiled as she placed her hand on top of his, and guided the spatula underneath the pancake. With a swift motion, the spatula slid under it, and quickly flipped it to the other side. "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked as they heard it sizzle. Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head. Pepper grinned at his reaction. "So I take it you want to do another one?"

"No, I don't want to do another one. It's your turn to be making _me_ breakfast," Tony said as he tried to switch places with her.

"Wait a sec, you're not done with that one," she said. Tony groaned.

"What do I have to do to it now?" he whined.

"You have to put it in the oven with the others," she said with a soft smile. Tony huffed and scooped the pancake up like Pepper had showed him with the spatula. He opened the oven door and bent over slightly to place it on the cookie sheet with the rest, but then he felt light prickling on each of his butt cheeks. The sensation made him shudder and jump away. He turned and saw laughing. "Somebody has a tickly butt," she said with a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Tony carefully sat the spatula down on the counter and looked at her with a serious look.

"You wanna play," he said while holding up his hands as if they were claws. "Then let's play," he finished with a wicked smile. Pepper became horrified as she began to back up slowly.

"Tony, no!" she said firmly.

"You better start running, Potts, 'cause when my hands get a hold of you, they're not gonna stop," he said in his best sinister villain voice. Pepper let out a squeal and bolted from the kitchen. With an evil laugh Tony ran after her. And the chase was on.

* * *

The room was dark, and Iron Maiden's mask laid on the table. She stood hutched over the bathroom sink, the blood still gushing out of her nose. She repeatedly cupped her hands and rinsed the blood from her nose. She dropped her hands, and watched as the red water flowed down the sink. The small sink was splattered with red droplets, and more came as she spit out the blood that had gotten into her mouth. Rage could not describe what she was feeling right now. Here she was, hovering over a sink like she was dying, and it was because of that woman. It was her fault for the reason why she was here in the first place. She grabbed some toilet paper and began wiping her face.

'_She's going to pay for this,'_ Maiden thought as she stuffed toilet paper up her nostrils in order to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, her phone began to ring. She grunted loudly, knowing exactly who it was. She picked her phone up, and without a word, answered it.

"You've disappointed me, Maiden," the Mandarin said softly into the phone. "You let her get away. Not only that, you've failed to locate the ring."

"Master, this is just a minor set-back," Iron Maiden began to explain, sounding nervous.

"Maiden, I don't think you understand the severity of the situation," he growled at her. "Not only have you failed to locate the ring, you've lost the woman. I'm running out of patience, Maiden." Iron Maiden straightened up, and spoke confidently into the phone,

"Master," she began. "I swear to you, you will have the ring in your hands before the sun sets tonight. You have my word."

"I'm holding you to that. If not, you know what will happen." Maiden swallowed nervously.

"Yes, Master."

"Get to work. Locate the woman, and bring me my ring."

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Tony sat at the table inhaling his first round of pancakes. Pepper stood there for a moment, watching him down the first half of his food.

"You know what? I'll just bring the whole cookie sheet over and you can just eat as many as you want," Pepper said, walking back to the stove to retrieve the cookie sheet full of pancakes.

"Good idea," Tony said with a mouthful. Pepper returned with the pan and placed it on the table. She took the seat beside Tony and took a couple of pancakes for herself. As she poured the syrup, Tony reached for more. "Babe, these are really good," he said to her. She grinned at him.

"Well, it helps if you're hungry." As she took a bite, Tony reached down underneath the table, grabbed her legs, and brought them up to rest in his lap. He pulled slightly on her, and brought her closer. She leaned into him and pressed her lips to his.

"And I'm hungry for more," he whispered to her. Pepper pulled back and looked at him.

"Maybe later, after I've forgiven you for destroying your shirt," she said, turning back to her pancakes. Tony rolled his eyes.

"You know I can afford to buy like 100 more shirts like that," Tony said. Pepper narrowed her eyes at him and tried her best to feign she was angry with him, but he saw right through her. She still had his shirt on, however it was now backwards with the sleeves tied in the back so her chest would be covered from his sight. After he had caught her earlier, his excitement got the best of him and wound up ripping the shirt right off of her; sending the majority of the buttons flying across the room.

"Eat your breakfast," she commanded and turned back to her plate.

"You mean brunch," Tony corrected. Pepper turned and looked at him. "It's too early for lunch, and it's too late for breakfast." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Alright, brunch, breakfast, whatever you want to call it, eat," she commanded. They sat in silence for a few moments, just eating. Tony looked up from his plate and eyed the ring that they found last night. He picked it up and carefully examined it. Pepper watched him as he inspected the object. "What do you think?" she asked him.

"Hmmm?" he mumbled, looking from the ring to her.

"What do you think about the ring? What do you think it's used for?" she clarified. He looked back to the ring and looked it over once again.

"JARVIS examined it last night. It's made up of two metals. Copper in the center, and silver on the top and bottom," he explained as he pointed to the specific types of metal on the ring. "Because it's made of those particular metals, it makes me think that it's meant to conduct an electric current because copper and silver are the best electricity conductors." Pepper nodded her head in understanding.

"Also, it's meant to fit on something because of the grooves on the inside of it; they're not there for decoration like these symbols," Tony explained.

"Do you know what those symbols mean?" she asked. Tony shook his head.

"No, I can't read Mandarin, unless you can," he said, grinning at her. Pepper snorted.

"I'm good, but I'm not that good." Tony laughed and placed the ring back on the table. "So what do you want to do about our appointment with SHIELD this afternoon?" He looked at her.

"I don't think it's necessary for both of us to go. To be honest, I don't want you leaving the house until that woman is caught." Pepper nodded. "If they want your statement, then they can come and get it."

"Are you gonna surrender the ring to them?" Pepper asked him.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why not? I mean, they're a government agency, Tony."

"Fury already has enough over my head, I don't need him to have one more thing, you know?" he said. Pepper nodded. "Besides, I think here is the best place for it. Nobody knows we have it, and what exactly are we gonna use it for, other than a weird looking piece of jewelry?" Pepper laughed at that. "I'm Iron Man, what do I need a little ring for?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face. Pepper smiled at him and turned back to her food. "One other thing, though," Tony began again, this time in a more serious tone.

"What is it?"

"I'm gonna have Fury pull Hammer's contact records from prison," he said. Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Justin Hammer? What does he have to do with anything?" she asked him, not believing this.

"Because Iron Maiden took you to one of his old factories outside of the city." Pepper's eyes widened.

"You're joking, right?"

"Babe, I wish I was. I thought you knew."

"I knew we were in a warehouse of some sort, I just didn't know which one." She paused a moment. "You honestly think Hammer is working with Iron Maiden and that guy who attacked you?"

"The Mandarin? Yes, if not working with them he's hired them."

"But Tony, do you honestly think he would try to pull something like that? From prison?"

"It can't be a coincidence, Pepper. Yeah, I would like to think that Hammer would be smart enough not to leave such an obvious trail like that, but I made the mistake of underestimating him last time, and we all know how that turned out."

"Well, for both of our sakes I hope you find something," she said.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

Ming Yong slowly walked into the terminal of the airport at LAX. She needed to find the authorities, and she needed to find them fast. She walked to Customs, got her passport stamped, and continued on her way through the airport. She looked around, trying to find either the security desk, or an officer in uniform. She continued walking towards the baggage claim, that's when she spotted the security desk. She rode the escalator down and quickly walked to the desk.

The security guard noticed her pace and readied himself, just in case she tried anything. "Yes, ma'am, can I help you?"

"I need to talk to the police, FBI, someone about some information I have," she said frantically. He eyed her suspiciously and grabbed his radio beside him, ready to report what he thought would be another airplane bombing.

"What kind of information do you have?" he asked her.

"It's about the destruction of China, and possibly the world."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Lord Have Mercy On My SOUL! God, I hate tax season. Well, I take that back, I both love it and hate it. Hate filling out paperwork, especially when you gotta help your parents sort their stuff out, but then you get the money back, so it's all good. This was supposed to be up last week, so I apologize for the week delay. I gotta be honest with you guys. I went back and read it from the prologue, and I lost count as to how many times both Tony and Pepper rolled their eyes! ROFL! Lord, it's like EVERY motion they were rolling their eyes. Anyway, from now on I am going to refrain from having them roll their eyes.

**WARNING: THERE IS NO CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS STORY! PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING BEFORE YOU YELL AT ME!**

* * *

Rise of the Mandarin

Chapter Seventeen

Pepper sat on one of the round wooden stools in the living room with her laptop in her lap, getting the daily stock report from none other than Jim Cramer. She sighed watching him have his 1,000th mental breakdown on live television. "I swear, sometimes I think he needs to be on Ritalin," she said as she heard Tony enter the room. He snickered as he walked over to the coffee table.

"Honey, it's the weekend. You don't need to be watching the stock reports." Pepper snorted.

"Tony, even though it is Friday, the weekend doesn't officially start until the afternoon," she said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smirk. Tony shook his head and grabbed his coffee cup off the table.

"Alright," he began after taking a sip and sitting the cup down. "I'm gonna go talk with Fury, and then I'm coming straight back. I shouldn't be gone no more than an hour," he said as he slipped on his blazer. Pepper sat her laptop on the coffee table and walked over to him to help him adjust his jacket.

"Are you sure you don't need me to go?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm positive," he said assuredly. "They've got me, okay? I want you to stay here until this thing blows over. You'll be safe here; nothing's gonna happen."

"Tony, I don't mind to speak with them."

"I know that, but Coulson said so himself that it was an option for both of us to come in. So, if that be the case, only I am gonna go in." She smiled and nodded at him. "What did you do with the ring?" he asked. Her hands left him and pulled on the golden chain around her neck.

"Safest hiding spot in the house," she said to him, holding the ring up for him to see then tucking it back down in her shirt. Tony watched as it fell back down into her shirt. It left little to the imagination to where its hiding spot was.

"God, I've never wanted to be a piece of jewelry so bad until that moment," he said, sounding like he was choking. She giggled at him and finished running her hands down his lapels. He leaned over and kissed her softly as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She pressed a hand to his cheek, holding him to her. "I'll be right back," he said, slightly pulling away from her. She nodded.

"Okay, I'll be here."

"You better be," he said, winking at her. He moved passed her, but then felt her hand softly pat his butt.

"Oooh," he said, turning back to her while walking towards the basement. She winked and watched him walk down the stairs before turning back to the TV.

"Jarvis, lock down the house after I leave," Tony said, walking over to his cars.

"Yes, sir," Jarvis responded. Tony got in his car and drove out of the garage.

* * *

While looking in the mirror, Iron Maiden wrapped the gauze tightly around her head to keep the cotton balls in each nostril in place. She reached for her mask and gently placed it over her head. She adjusted it accordingly and assembled the rest of her uniform in its proper place. The phone began ringing again. She let out a scream of frustration as she picked up the phone.

"Leave me the hell alone!" she yelled, shaking the phone in her hand. She sighed quickly, and answered it. "Yes, master?" she said as calmly as she could.

"Wu is waiting for you with a team. Take them and find the woman," Mandarin said over the phone. Iron Maiden's breath hitched in her throat. She willed herself to not blow up on her master.

"Sire, with all due respect…"

"Maiden I cannot wait any longer!" Mandarin yelled. "I have given you three days, and still no results. I'm disappointed in you, Maiden. Usually you're not this careless." There was a click and Maiden screamed while throwing her phone across the room.

"Careless?" she yelled. Her breaths were deep and slow. "I'll show him careless." With that, Maiden left the confinement of her dirty hotel room.

* * *

Tony pulled the car up to the old warehouse where he had last met with Fury. Already there were agents monitoring the premises. '_Huh, old man must be early this time,'_ Tony thought. He saluted the agent standing next to the door and walked in. He shut the door behind him and walked over to the glass desk in the middle of the room. In front of him television screens were set to the various news channels. He sat down in the chair and placed his hands on the desk, beginning to twiddle his thumbs. Suddenly, he heard a door open behind him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, we've had a busy morning," he heard a familiar voice say, but it wasn't Fury's. Tony turned around and saw Coulson walking towards him.

"I thought I was going to be meeting with your boss this morning," Tony said, agitated.

"Director Fury is dealing with some very important matters right now. He asked me to come in his place." Coulson sat down on the other side of the desk and pulled out a pad of paper and a voice recorder. Tony huffed out a breath.

"How long is this going to take?" Coulson looked up to him and didn't say anything. Tony cleared his throat and adjusted himself on the chair.

"I'm surprised to see Miss Potts didn't accompany you," Coulson said coolly.

"You said last time that her statement wasn't necessary."

"I said it wasn't necessary if you were going to give yours immediately. We will need hers, but for now yours with do." Tony lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, then sat his hand flat on the desk, giving Coulson his undivided attention.

* * *

Pepper continued sitting in the living room answering emails when her phone began ringing. She looked down to the Caller ID and saw who was calling. "Melina!" Pepper gasped. _"Oh my God, I completely forgot about her!"_ she thought. She took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Do you know how long I've been trying to get a hold of you?" she heard Melina's panicked voice exclaim from the other line.

"God, Melina, I am so sorry," Pepper said, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead.

"Ginny, I've been so worried about you. Where are you?"

"I've been staying with Tony for the past couple of days. You wouldn't believe what happened to me on Wednesday."

"Actually, yes I would, and so would the rest of the country." Pepper's eyes popped open.

"Wait, what?" Pepper asked, suddenly confused as her hand fell to her lap.

"Ginny, your kidnapping is all over the news."

"It is?" she asked unbelievingly.

"Yes Ginny! I'm watching it right now!"

"What channel?"

"Fox news." Pepper looked down to the holographic table and scanned through the channels.

"Why do you sound like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're talking through your nose."

"Oh, that. I'm coming down with a cold."

"Already?"

"Yeah, it must have been the rapid change of climate." Pepper came to Fox and pressed it. The channel appeared, however they weren't talking about her kidnapping.

"Are you sure it was Fox that was talking about it?" she asked, picking up her laptop and going to Google.

"Yes! I'm watching it right now!" Pepper typed her name into the search engine and watched the results come up. "Are you still at Tony's house?" Pepper remained silent as she skimmed through the results.

"Melina, there's nothing on the internet about it, and I'm watching Fox. They're talking about the real estate market right now. Are you sure it was Fox?" Pepper asked her. She heard a click, and the other line go silent. "Hello? Melina?" Pepper looked to her phone to see the call had ended. She immediately dialed Melina's phone number, but it rolled over to voice mail. She looked to her phone and pressed the 'end call' button. _"Her phone must've died,"_ she thought. _"But why would she say that Fox was doing a segment on my kidnapping?"_ She sighed and immediately dialed Tony's cell phone.

* * *

"Alright, I think that's all for now," Coulson said, beginning to pack of his things.

"But what about the warehouse?" Tony asked.

"What about it?" Coulson asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"The fact that it was an old Hammer Industries building?"

"I'm sure that was a coincidence."

"But what if it wasn't? There are plenty of old buildings in LA, why did she choose that one?" Coulson thought about it and looked at him.

"Probably because it's abandoned and on the outskirts of the city. Even if Miss Potts had escaped, the nearest phone would've been at least five miles away." Tony sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"That's not the point. Look, I really think his phone records need to be looked over."

"Mr. Stark, I assure you Justin Hammer is locked up tightly. We know his every movement. Hell, we have guys in there telling us when he sneezes." Tony huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, knowing there wasn't any point trying to argue with a SHIELD agent.

"So we're done here?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes, I think we are."

"Good." Tony hurriedly got out of his chair and walked to the door, however he was stopped in his tracks when he heard his phone ringing.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Tony, are you still with Director Fury?" he heard Pepper ask.

"Actually, Fury failed to make it. He sent Coulson to keep me company."

"Okay, that's fine. Can you please ask him if my kidnapping was released to the public?"

"I can answer that for you. No, it was not," he answered firmly, keeping his gaze away from Coulson.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Pepper, I'm absolutely positive. No one was made aware of your kidnapping, other than the authorities." That statement caught Coulson's attention. He slowly made his way over to Tony as he eavesdropped on his conversation.

"Huh. Well, I got a very interesting phone call from Melina a few minutes ago."

"Oh yeah? What did she say?"

"Well, she sounded worried and asked me if I was alright. Then she tells me that my kidnapping was all over Fox News."

"What?" Tony asked, unbelievingly.

"That's what I said, but she was very insistent that she had seen it. So naturally I looked it up, but I didn't find anything."

"What did she say after you told her that?"

"Nothing, the line went dead." Suddenly, Tony's phone was snatched out of his hand.

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed, turning around to look at Coulson, who now had his phone.

"Miss Potts, Agent Coulson speaking. What is your friend's name?"

"Melina Vostokoff."

"That sounds familiar."

"She's works at the Hong Kong branch."

"Oh yes, now I remember." Tony reached for his phone, but Coulson moved out of the way. "Miss Potts, I am going to be sending SHIELD agents to you. Please, do not leave the premises unless necessary."

* * *

"Trust me, I won't be leaving anytime soon." Suddenly, a helicopter appeared outside of the living room window. "Boy that was fast," she said, getting up and walking over to the window.

"What was fast?" Coulson asked.

* * *

"Your agents, they're here already. Although I never knew you guys to make an entrance in helicopters." That alarmed Coulson.

"We don't."

"What's going on?" Tony asked, now worried. "Pepper?" Tony called to her.

* * *

Slowly, the helicopter turned and Pepper came face to face with Iron Maiden.

"Oh my god. She found me, she's here."

* * *

All the color drained out of Tony's face when he heard that.

"You need to get out of there, now!" Coulson said to her. Tony sprinted to the door, and threw it open, making a bee line for his car. Before his door was completely shut, he was already backing out of the parking lot.

* * *

Pepper was frozen where she stood. Fear engulfed her as she gazed upon that horrible mask again. Slowly her hand dropped and her phone fell to the floor as she watched several figures appear beside her in the helicopter, throwing down rope to the patio. That snapped her out of her trance as the anger began to boil inside of her. She quickly turned and ran over to the glass panel near the basement stairs.

"Oh no, they are not going to come in and trash my house," she said angrily. "Jarvis, activate Protocol 15!" Pepper tapped on the screen and punched in some numbers.

"Voice and handprint verification needed for lockdown," Jarvis said. Pepper heard some glass breaking. Quickly, she placed her hand to the screen.

"Virginia Isabella Potts," she said hurriedly. The screen scanned her hand and processed her voice signature.

"Lockdown complete," Jarvis stated. Pepper peered down the stairs and watched as a steel wall appeared to block the door to the basement. She turned back to the living room and saw four men, dressed head to toe in what she could best describe as 'black ninja costumes', walking through the broken window. One figure spotted her and rushed over to her.

Pepper stood her ground; she wasn't running, not this time. Anger consumed her as she watched the figure pull back his right fist, and thrusted it forward to Pepper's face. Instead of his knuckles coming into contact with her nose, it hit the palm of her right hand. She gave him no time to react; she quickly twisted his arm. He screamed out in pain as she pulled back her left fist and shoved it into his cheek, ultimately sending him to the floor. Seeing what she did to their comrade, the other figures hurried over to her. She calmly walked towards them and beckoned them with both her hands. "Let's dance, gentlemen." The battle had begun.

The next one tried to punch her, like it had worked the first time. She shifted her weight, watching the fist fly by her head, grabbed his wrist and used her hand to hit his arm with a chopping motion. Hearing the popping sounds and the man's wail didn't stop her. She brought her arm up and elbowed him in the face.

Pepper felt herself being grabbed from behind. She felt arms wrap underneath her arms, pinning them motionless and flailing in the air. The arms' hands then braced themselves on the back of her neck. She jumped and pulled, trying to get out of his grasp, then saw the last figure coming towards her. At the last possible moment, she made her body go limp and fell to the floor, out of the man's grasp. She heard the commotion go on above her; he was obviously hit by his comrade instead of her getting hit.

She swung her legs around, sweeping the feet out from underneath the last one standing, causing a loud thud when his face hit the floor. She swung her legs up then down quickly, landing on the balls of her feet. She saw one of the other men approach her again. "Didn't I just take you out?" she asked as he started thrusted his leg out, trying to kick her. Pepper slapped his foot away each time he tried to get a hit. He started throwing punches; she would block them and then started throwing her own, hitting him in the face and jabbing him in the ribs. Feeling the pain engulf his chest, he hunched over. Pepper took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach, and shoved him down to the floor.

Two arms wrapped around her stomach and lifted her up. She began kicking and moving in his grasp, trying to do anything to make him lose his grip from around her. Her feet came back down to the ground, but the other two figures came back for a second attempt at capturing her. She jumped up and trusted her feet into their faces. They fell back as she thrusted her head backwards, hitting it with her capturer's head.

Finally, all four of them were down. She turned to make a break for the front door, but instead came face to face with a gun barrel. "Goodnight, Ginny," she heard a cold voice say.

The sound of a gunshot filled the entire house. Iron Maiden watched as Pepper's body was thrown backwards, and ultimately fell lifeless to the floor. Slowly, she walked over to her, surveying the nice bullet hole in the side of her forehead. She crouched down to get a better look at it. There was a little blood around the edge but the bullet had penetrated nicely, making a nice clean hole.

She had done it. She had killed Pepper Potts. "Such a shame," she began softly. "All that beauty, wasted." Her eyes trailed down to her neck and saw part of a gold chain poking out from underneath her collar. She ripped it off and was in complete awe, finally finding what she came here for. She sighed slowly and stood up. "Bring her body," she said to the limping ninja quartet.

"But Maiden," one of them began.

"It's confirmation for Mr. Hammer," she said sweetly. "Besides, we need another reason for Mr. Stark to come to Hong Kong anyway." She began walking to the helicopter, the others followed close behind, with one of the less injured ones carrying Pepper's body to the helicopter. One by one they hopped in, and took off.

Iron Maiden sat in her seat, completely satisfied with herself. She looked down to the ring again, touching it gently as if it were glass. _"You were definitely worth the trouble,"_ she thought to herself.

"Maiden!" she heard one of them yell.

"What is it now?" she screamed back to them.

"It's Miss Potts," he said in a panic. She huffed and got out of her seat, walking towards the back.

"What about her? She's dead." The man pointed to her head.

"Look!" Maiden looked down to Pepper's head, and saw it. The bullet was sticking out of her head.

"Wait a second, it was buried in her skull." She looked closely at the bullet; it was slowly rising out of her head.

"Her body is healing itself," he said.

"I can see that!" she yelled at him. She quickly stood up. "Oh my God," she breathed out, placing a hand to her head, not really knowing how to handle this. "Get some binds around her, just in case if she wakes up. Let's pray that she doesn't." Maiden turned and walked back to her seat. _"How am I going to explain this one?"_ she thought. "Pilot! Hurry us to the airport!"

* * *

A/N: So... I would just like to say that we don't know alot about Pepper's past... AND THAT'S ALL I'M GOING TO SAY ON THE MATTER!


End file.
